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I would never have picked this band to stick around so long, as after more than twenty years and eight albums they have never managed to rise above "generic." Only guitarist/vocalist Rami Keranen remains from the old days, and the bulk of this lineup is almost brand-new, so again, this is a band that goes through a lot of members and has never managed to really build any kind of momentum or create any kind of identity.

The playing here is competent and the production is solid, but the songwriting is kind of a mess, with compositions that seem like random clumps of parts without anything to do with each other. This sounds like you put a bunch of B-sides from third-rate bands like Skylark or Red Wine in a blender and ground them all up. Sometimes they will get a good melody or vocal line and ride it, but it’s never anything really standout.

The vocals on here deserve especial mention, as the band has no less than three singers on this disc. Guitarist Keranen has an amazingly undistinguished tone, and the band also sports a second male singer with a guy called Jarno Vitri, who sounds awful. The inexplicable thing is that this album also features vocals by Nitte Valo, who made her bones on Battle Beast’s debut, and has been nomadic ever since, shifting from band to band. I know this woman is an absolute wailer, with energy, range, and charisma to spare, but you’d never know it from the tepid, faceless performance on this album. Overall, this eighth Dreamtale album seems like a criminal waste of talent and time.