Year: 2025
Total Time: 58.18
Label: Nuclear Blast
Marko Hietala is a well-known and respected artist, not only from his time in NIGHTWISH but from his whole career. He is a very active musician with participation to many projects as well as his solo albums, 2019’s “Mystan Sydamen Rovio” and the latest “Roses From The Deep”.
The truth is that I was quite skeptical when I started listening to the album but I quickly changed my mind. One of the reasons, is the fact that at least 8 of the 10 songs are structured in such a way that you will definitely stick to your mind. Either the melody or a verse or even the title. Especially the first trio of “Frankenstein’s Wife”, “Left On Mars” (mainly due to Tarja’s participation) and “Proud Whore” is the perfect start for an album. This is followed by a nice and necessary ballad, “Two Soldiers” and then my favorite “The Dragon Must Die” which is perhaps the most complex song since the changes are clearly visible, the orchestral parts are epic, Anssi Nyjanen’s drums and Tuomas Wainola’s guitar have their moments and Hietala’s voice comes out with an impressive theatricality that he doesn’t lack anyway. Another highlight is “The Devil You Know” with a more country aesthetic. Moving onto the end of the album, we have the Heavy Rock “Rebel Of The North”, “Tammikuu” which is the only song in Finnish, “Impatient Zero” which deals with mental illnesses that Hietala himself struggled with in the past and finally the atmospheric “Roses From The Deep” with the excellent guitar solo.
“Roses From The Deep” is a very carefully structured album, full of catchy songs where Hietala shows off his talent as both a composer and a singer. Covering a wide musical range from classic Heavy Rock to the well-known symphonic parts that we love from his time in NIGHTWISH, Hietala proves that he is a musical genius who has never run out of ideas. Last but not least, it is one of the few albums that from the first listen there are songs that stick in your mind and I consider this a tremendous success!
Rating: 7,5/10
Editor: Kostas Boudoukos
Related Link: MARKO HIETALA – Official Page
