Review | Arion – The Light That Burns The Sky

Reigning Phoenix Music

‘The Light That Burns The Sky’ is the fourth album of Arion and with this new release, this Finnish melodic power metal band displays the band’s commitment to the melodic metal genre. This five-piece band from Helsinki, initiated by guitarist/songwriter Livo Kaipainen have stayed loyal to their sound, as the music has not changed since their last effort indeed.

THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS ALBUM

So, it is symphonic metal galore all over again, mixing melody, heaviness, and bombast to the extreme, without making any compromises. The title track is without a shadow of a doubt the highlight of this album and here Arion is at its best; great chorus, glorious and virtuous guitar solos, and lots of bombast; indeed, can it get any better than this?

The already excepted answer is of course, no it cannot, as after ,,Like The Phoenix Will Rise’’ and ,,Wings Of Twilight” (featuring guest vocalist Melissa Bonny of Ad Infinitum), which are both good songs, it seems as though all the following tracks are, composition-wise, very much alike.

ARION – THE CONCLUSION

So, after a couple of spins, I got rather bored with fast, bombastic, almost cinematic tracks like ,,Wildfire”, ,,Black Swan” or ,,Into The Hands Of Fate,” which really sound too familiar and too bombastic to really enjoy them. In my humble opinion, Arion sticks too much to their signature sound and their music does not really evolve, making this new album a rather dull listening experience; with the exception of two already mentioned marvelous tracks: ,,The Light That Burns The Sky” and ,,Like The Phoenix I Will Rise”.

So, overall, the new Arion album is a disappointment, but if you liked their previous album then you might like ‘The Light That Burns The Sky.’

Find out for yourself! Listening tip: ,,Like The Phoenix I Will Rise”.

Release date: 28 February 2025