When I saw the news about Marko’s upcoming album, “Roses From The Deep”, I jumped up in excitement, and that doesn’t happen often. He’s also coming soon (April 1st – not a joke) to Bucharest, so that definitely adds to it.
The first track is called “Frankenstein’s Wife” and from the moment I hit play and heard his voice it just felt like a warm and comforting hug. Not necessarily the song itself, insomuch as it makes me happy to hear new music from Marko and know he actually enjoys making it. “My darling, I’ll be your lightning. I’ll keep bringing you back to life. Frankenstein’s Wife”. This is such a catchy chorus I am sure all day there will be a thread in my brain just going MY DAAARLING. I have also just finished reading Onyx Storm, the latest book in the Empyrean series, so for those who know what I’m talking about, this lightning is extra sweet. The cover even has dragons on it/
“Left on Mars” was actually a single released a while back while he was on tour with Tarja. I hope you know he is extensively touring with Tarja and it makes you just as giddy and happy as it makes me to hear them both again!!! Something in my inner child feels healed to see them together and listen to a new song they put together. Is it objectively such a great song? Probably not. But music is not made to be objective.
“Proud Whore” has me hooked from the title, but I have to admit I was expecting it to be …sexier. More whore, less proud :)) Or maybe I’m just thinking of the In This Moment song. But this fits Marko better. I think it will be delicious to see him playing this live.
“Two Soldiers” starts very mellow, very intriguing. We have soft strings so I am prepared to be emotional. Such a beautiful duet with Tuomas Wäinölä. The album info doesn’t say who the duet is with but I assume that’s the right one from watching youtube videos of the song being played. This song makes my soul vibrate. It has a beautiful spoken interlude. I have tried not to mention Marko’s former band, but if there’s any song that reminds me of that era, this is it. “All we have are dreams and a dream can take you far”
“Dragon Must Die” brings a change of pace with what sounds like a gaelic song. I feel like I need a beer to listen to this song. (and if we’re still talking the Fourth Wing books, I sincerely hope the dragon won’t die). I am not sure if we’re singing this song coming from a battle or going into one, but either way, I like it.
“The Devil You Know” gives you just a bit of that country/blues beginning, but then starts to pick up more steam. It’s again one of the songs that have a catchy chorus and it display quite a lot of versatility in Marko’s vocals.
“Rebel of the North” starts with clean rock guitars and some interesting lyrics “I’m a human male, an ape with an ego”. Is this general self reflection or a bit of shade thrown and the-band-that-must-not-be-named’s last few albums? It’s a song with a bit of angst.
I like the wordplay of “Impatient Zero” (and I can relate). The chorus is multi-layered and fun.
We also get a little bit of Finnish on this album with “Tammikuu“. I’ll save you the time to google translate and tell you it means January. Finnish is not a very melodic language, and yet when Marko sings it, it truly is something else. The songs makes me think of a live performance with multiple guitarists swinging their guitars (and hair) in perfect sync.
The closing track is also the title track “Roses From The Deep“, so I am excited for it. I didn’t expect a mellow and emotional song, but here we are. The melancholy and regret is so clear in his voice it hurts a bit.
All in all, this is objectively a really good album. Subjectively, much better than I would have hoped. I feel like it represents Marko and it is not bound of the pressure of a band, label, fan expectation. It’s clear at this point when he decided to come back to the music scene that he’s doing it because he WANTS to and I am so happy for that. I will be adding most of this album to my liked song and I cannot wait to hear it live