KiaRa (Anna ‘KiaRa’ Moiseeva)
Title: Archangel
Label: Independent
Release date:14th October 2022
“Archangel” is the second full-length KiaRa album. This work of art was created during a difficult time, first, we had Covid and then isolation, followed by the Russian - Ukrainian war. After crowdfunding and a desire to make a mark on the world, KiaRa is back with a spectacular album.
This release has a running theme focusing on reincarnation and evolution of the soul, crossing different genres of this thing we all love called Heavy Metal this platter opens with “God of War” this is one hell of a statement, as we see the band at their heaviest with killer growls combined with Annas majestic tones this works well on the opener and has you raising your to horns to the sky in salute.
The war topic continues as “By the Grace of The Lord” is up next where Anna delivers her usual air of mystical grace this is powerful and enchanting and has a folky hypnotic feel about it with its melodious grooves and splendor leads into the superlative “Princes wife“ with a foreboding feel to it and is sung in her mother tongue of Russian, it's deep and draws you in with its trance-like rhythms. Piano and guitar solos feature in “Requiem for Immortality” as we are then drawn into a stunning instrumental of "Black Sun". Annas' vocals are simply amazing, and the musicianship is at its finest on “Nostalgia” a song about distant memories and the awakening of love, it’s an inspiring and dramatic piece that leads into the fast-paced “Hope” a song of pure symphonic harmony with bewitching vocals taking you on a magical journey that you just don’t want to end.
The next song is the new single” Last Goodbye” where Anna delivers an almost pure graceful air, this song is one of the many highlights on here, with its killer tones and excellent guitar solo it’s a winner for me. “Heart of life” has a feel of heavenly dreams as the vocals soar high into the sky it floats, then is met by a storm of drums and bass. The next and penultimate track “We are Stardust” is a heady mix of different styles that surprise the listener with its mix of metal moments and poetic vibes. The main song on here is the heroic “Archangel” a gigantic piece that manages to mix all the elements of the previous tracks and combines them all together into one monster number, it is just pure musical alchemy!
There are some double versions on here and orchestral versions on here making this album 16 amazing tracks that are simply a must-have as the nights draw in this album will be the perfect companion as Kia Ra shows they aren’t afraid to explore outside the Symphonic Metal genre, Love it!
Review: Seb Di Gatto Score: 9/10
Reviewed: 01/10/22
Tracklisting:
1. God of War
2. By the Grace of the Lord
3. Жена князя (Prince's Wife)
4. Requiem For The Immortality
5. Black Sun (Instrumental)
6. Nostalgia
7. Hope
8. Last Goodbye
9. Heart of Life
10. We Are the Stardust
11. Archangel
Мы – Звездная пыль (We Are The Stardust in Rus)
Архангел (Archangel in Rus)
"By the Grace of the Lord" (Instrumental)
"God of War" (Instrumental)
"Archangel" (Instrumental)
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