Cain’s Offering - Gather the Faithful 3/5

01. My Queen Of Winter 04:14 02. More Than Friends 04:19 03. Oceans Of Regret 06:20 04. Gather The Faithful 03:50 05. Into The Blue 04:25 06. Dawn Of Solace 04:18 07. Thorn In My Side 04:07 08. Morpheus In A Masquerade 06:50 09. Stolen Waters 04:34 10. Elegantly Broken 02:46

Supergroups. They’re a bit of a mixed bag; for every Cavalera Conspiracy or Hellyeah, there’s an Audioslave or a Zwan. Cain’s Offering are the Finnish power-metal supergroup; former Sonata Arctica guitarist Jani Liitmatainen joins forces with Stratovarius vocalist Timo Kotipelto and Wintersun bassist Jukka Koskinen. The lineup is filled out by drummer Jani Hurula and keyboardist Mikko Härkin, who was also briefly in Sonata. Given Timo’s prior commitments with Stratovarius (who released their twelfth album in the summer) they haven’t actually performed live together yet, existing in essence as a studio project. It’s a testament to the ability and professional nature of the band’s members that they don’t allow this to adversely affect them to any great extent, still managing to come out sounding tight and unified on record.

Musically Cain’s Offering generally manage to find just a bit more of an edge than recent offerings from Sonata or Stratovarius, although the symphonic bent of the latter’s music still manages to creep in. I say “creep”, it basically batters the bloody door down. I’m going to attempt to stop the comparisons to the band’s ‘parent’ groups there, however, and judge them on their own merits, although it may prove difficult to review a Finnish power metal album without making reference to some of its most eminent exponents.

As you’d expect, there are plenty of power metal staples in place across the board on ‘Gather the Faithful‘; in particular the traditional ‘galloping’ drumbeat is present in many songs, most noticeably “Dawn of Solace”. There’s also a heavy reliance on the “orchestral strings” setting on Mikko’s keyboard, and on “Oceans of Regret“ even a regrettable passage involving the “orchestral hit“ noise, which should really be reserved only for 80s hip-hop songs. However there are some attempts to serve up something other than the standard predictable fare, with some almost electronic influences seeping in through the keyboards - “Thorn In My Side” at times almost feels like a dance track, featuring an interesting synth line and the occasional use of programmed drum samples. At the same time, the songs which employ this kind of keyboard technique are also the more “metal” sounding ones, as they’re not drowning in synth strings. At times the deluge of synth can threaten to overwhelm the guitar a bit, although that’s more of a production issue; Jani’s playing is exemplary throughout, with the standout moments of course being the epic solos we grew to love him for with Sonata. As such, there is some intricate riff work, and occasional sparks of great interaction between the keyboard and guitar, with precedence given to the melody at all times.

OK, so the lyrics are laughably cheesy, but to be fair did you expect anything else from a power metal supergroup? Happily enough Cain’s Offering do avoid the ol’ Lord of the Rings territory (*cough* Blind Guardian *cough*), but however opt instead more for the boy-band approach, singing about girls. For examples, see “More Than Friends”, “Oceans of Regret” and, oh, basically every other song on the album. This does get a bit much after a little while, and you’d almost rather it was about wizards and elves. Almost.

In many ways ‘Gather the Faithful’ is a stereotypical power metal record, but sometimes that’s just exactly what you’re looking for. Sometimes all you want is galloping double-bass, high-pitched singing, and interwoven guitar and keyboard solos. No, it’s not particularly inventive or original, but it’s catchy and it’s fun, and above all else it’s genuine. It’s not trying to be anything that it’s not; Cain’s Offering are power-metal and proud, and that shines through in their music. Fair enough you might take a check around your flat to make sure nobody’s listening first, but you are going to end up singing along to songs like power-ballad “Into the Blue”, and maybe even hauling the odd air-guitar noodle to faster numbers like “Stolen Waters” (which is probably the album’s standout track). Timo’s voice is perfectly suited to the slower songs like “Into the Blue” and closing ballad “Elegantly Broken”, but is by no means out of place elsewhere; indeed you start to associate his voice so strongly with the band’s music that it begins to feel like something is missing from the completely instrumental title track. Not that the symphonic orchestral backing that said song receives is below-par, it’s just that you get so used to Timo’s voice as part of the Cain’s Offering sound that you kind of miss it when it’s not there.

With Stratovarius seemingly content to release basically the same album every year, and Sonata Arctica conversely intent on Change to the extent of morphing beyond recognition, Cain’s Offering provide something which is new and yet very familiar at the same time. They play solid, traditional power-metal, with no airs, graces or pretences, and while they may not match the majesty of their ‘parent’ bands at their peak, they still knock out some pretty decent tunes. They may not be the most original band in the world, but what they do they do well, and I’m pretty sure that if you like power metal, you’re going to like Cain’s Offering.

Gather The Faithful is available to buy or download at play.com

Genre : Power Metal

Article by Phil Sim