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One thing right away: 2004 will be a very strong year of Metal and I'm wondering how many fantastic albums are going to be released this year which has just started - anyway this piece of music is definitely one of those albums that might get the title "Album of the
year". More than 1 1/2 years the team consisting of producer Sascha Paeth,
multi-instrumentalist Robert Hunecke-Rizzo, keyboarder Miro and singer/songwriter Amanda Somerville worked on their Metal opera called "Aina". The result is simply unbelievable - but first let me tell you some backgrounds about the project. There had been some Metal operas, a
good example would be Tobias Sammet's masterpieces Avantasia I & II - however, Aina is different. Amanda Somerville not only created a story for this opera, she created the land of Aina, many characters and even their own language. The first thing I thought about while listening to the story (which can be heard on the bonus-disc) was something like 'The Lord of the Rings' so detailed it is.
However the story is not everything yet - let's take a look at the list of contributors. We have lots of famous guest-appearances on this opera like Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween, Supared), Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia), Olaf Hayer (Luca Turilli), Andre Matos (ex-Angra, Shaman), Candice Night (Blackmore`s Night), Marco Hietala / Emppu Vuorinen (Nightwish), Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater), Jens Johansson (Stratovarius), Thomas Youngblood (Kamelot) and the list could go on. Concerning music we are offered more than just a typical metal album; Aina convinces with its great variety of styles, it even goes beyond what is called 'metal' since you can find several other genres in here. From power metal songs is goes right into soundtrack-like songs and much more. From the beginning to the end the story is perfectly arranged and the atmosphere is so real that you are drawn into this world of Aina. You cannot compare this to anything just because there has never been something like this before. However, my enthusiasm does not end here. Remarkable is also the the packaging but also the huge amount of extras. This album does not simply contain one CD - no, as mentioned above there is a bonus-disc with the story of Aina plus demo versions of several songs, a booklet with 64 pages, a DVD with interviews, a video clip and more. This album is definately worth buying and I'm not sure if 10/10 is good enough to rate it.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Aina Overture |
| 2. Revelations |
| 3. Silver Maiden |
| 4. Flight Of Torek |
| 5. Naschtok Is Born |
| 6. The Beast Within |
| 7. The Siege Of Aina |
| 8. Talon’s Last Hope |
| 9. Rape Of Oria |
| 10. Son Of Sorvahr |
| 11. Serendipity |
| 12. Lalae Amêr |
| 13. Rebellion |
| 14. Oriana’s Wrath |
| 15. Restoration |
: 70.42
| Buy other Aina albums |
