The
countdown has begun. I have the pleasure to present to you the upcoming
Icon and the Black Roses album, beginning with “Innocence”. After
the majestic first single “Wings of a Dreamer”, let’s go with the
second. It’s one of the four songs
that were presented in the album teaser in April. It’s an amazing song
that shows me how Johnny & Co. have developed their musical style. 9
years have passed since the debut album, but this song is something
unique. The hard work is in evidence here - a very catchy refrain, with
every little detail treated in a great way. Let’s analyze it all.
First of all, I notice that the sound got heavier than in the past. This
definition of “heavy” should be explained better: Johnny & Co.
worked a lot in order to find a perfect blend of instruments and loops
to create a sort of “trademark” sound. In my opinion, the key of
this new modernized style makes this song a lot more charming, but not
just the song - the arrangements also make it unique. Could I define a
new genre here? Ok, it’s pure Velvet Metal, a sort of new modern Love
Metal, in the sense that they have mixed the melancholic groove of the
song into a “velvet” metal arrangement. The distorted guitars are
flangered and perfectly set by a modern hard distortion (when it’s
needed) and I can’t help but say that there’s great keyboard &
synth work too. It’s a delicious mix of effects in which Johnny’s
voice finds the perfect groove - every note is a piece of a perfect
harmonic puzzle and Johnny & Co. took care to sex up the song using
great arrangements. It’s pointless to say how touching this song is. A
melancholic piano introduces it with seagulls tweeting in the
background, almost crying, and it seems like a magical suite. The intro
is one of those that you’ll never forget - melancholic rock/metal,
Icon-style, that then introduces a decayed and nostalgic lyric, poetic
as usual, in which the words of eternal deep love find the perfect
harmonic red carpet into this great composition supported by an
unbelievable atmosphere. Another important aspect to mention is the
chorus – a lot of fade-in and fade-out, but it still supports the
tremendous devotion to every important little detail. This song is
destined to be an anthem of new Love metal fans, those that are still
searching for that feeling that Finnish bands seem to have lost. “Baby
don’t cry no more…don’t miss me when I’m gone” is a line that
you won’t easily get out of your head.
