Band:	Arven
Album:	Music Of Light
Style:	Melodic power metal
Release date:	September 2011

01. Music Of Light
02. On Flaming Wings
03. Raise Your Cups
04. My Dear Friend
05. World Of Hatred
06. Dark Red Desire
07. Midwinter Nights
08. Till Death Do Us Part
09. Ruined Castle
10. A Stranger's Story

It has been a few years since people started to realise that there has been an excessive amount of female fronted melodic metal bands. As a result, to stand head and shoulders above others has been increasingly hard, and I think Arven realises it too as they certainly know how to differentiate themselves from the normal bunch - by having an almost all female supporting cast to back up their front woman! How about the music? Well, it's certainly within the framework of melodic power metal with vocals commonly associated with symphonic metal bands, but we also have a folkish vibe thrown in here and there, a bunch of other instruments making their appearances throughout the album, not to mention a choir.

Looks good on paper, but it's the actual listening experience that counts. I have to say that the musicianship suffers no comparison issues with male bands. Carina's vocals are of the classically trained variant, so if you are into that sort of style you certainly would not find it offensive in any way. The songs are quite varied and have got some individual identity in them, though not all of them being major successes. The most glaring example being the folk tune "Raise Your Cups" that's clearly more about raucousness and drinks whereas the operatic vocals sounds very restrictive and out of sync with the overall atmosphere. That being said, the anthem nature of "Till Death Do Us Part" and the title track's violin solo are certainly a pleasure to listen to. However, song structures are fairly formulaic, and the other classical instruments feels like they're just there for the novelty effect that mostly appear in the intro / outro of the tracks instead of being fully incorporated into the music. As with most female fronted melodic metal bands, the music has been waylaid by the lack of inspired riffs and solos. It's not that they are not there, but mostly it's just a decent affair more fitting in the background, with the vocal melodies being the dominant factor.

Bottom line, Music Of Light is a polished debut, but probably too polished and too safe and leaves the listener craving something wilder, more experimental and exciting. Those looking for speed and a major head banging session should probably look elsewhere. Then again, there's always an audience that wishes for an album that offers nice melodies that are quite memorable with a tinge of folk.