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Anna KiaRa - Archangel - Reviewed By keep-on-rocking! Saturday August 19 2023, 5:49 PM

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Anna KiaRa - Archangel - Reviewed By keep-on-rocking ! Check it out here at this link: https://keep-on-rocking.com/2023/07/13/anna-kiara-archangel/

She is known as the singer of Imperial Age - Anna Moiseeva. There she lets her bell-clear soprano ring out as part of the vocal trio (together with Alexander "AOR" Osipov (tenor) and Jane Odintsova (mezzo-soprano). Since August 2019 she has also been working on her solo career, under the stage name KiaRa. A year later she appeared their debut album "Storyteller" Since April of this year you can now enjoy the successor "Archangel".

ann"God Of War" starts with symphonic sounds. But soon the rhythm department is banging on relentlessly, almost in Trash or Death style. Anna sings surprisingly harshly at times, but also brings out her soprano. "By The Grace Of The Lord" sounds a lot more melodic, with epic choruses. And again the singing of Anna KiaRa takes center stage. "Жена Князя" ("The Prince's Wife") is the first song written in the singer's native language. Quiet, very folkloric, appropriate to the Russian language. The anthem "Requiem For The Immortality" starts with keyboard sounds. The organ can also often be heard later. Anna KiaRa's vocals are countered by harsh vocal parts (Pavel Maryashin?). The sugar-sweet “Black Sun” proves that it can also be done without vocals. “Nostalgia” is also very balladesque, piano and strings dominate this love song. "Hope" is a catchy rock song and is characterized by piano and roasting guitars. The piano is probably one of the defining instruments on this album, again in joint arrangements with strings on “Last Goodbye”. Another (power) ballad. “Heart Of Life” also seems ballad-like. Later, powerful guitar riffs and a solo are added. So the song scratches on the mid-tempo hard rock area. "We Are The Stardust" starts with electronic sound gimmicks, the guitars are reminiscent of industrial metal, but thanks to the bell-clear voice the song doesn't fit into this genre. The title track "Archangel" is at the end of the regular part of the album. Hard guitar riffs are paired with orchestral arrangements once again. And great guitar solos again. What follows are the Russian versions of "We Are The Stardust" ("Мы – осколки звёзд") and "Archangel" ("Архангел"). Three orchestral versions ("By The Grace Of The Lord", "God Of War", "Archangel") form the conclusion.

On "Archangel" Anna KiaRa offers a wide mix of styles. The sound is far from what you are used to from Imperial Age. A thoroughly successful album. Although classified as symphonic metal, there are a variety of other influences to be found, from heavy metal to death and industrial metal to classical music and folk infusions. This is a curse and a blessing at the same time. On the one hand, it shows the range of the singer. On the other hand, there is no musical thread to be found. It would probably have been better for the overall impression to focus on fewer styles. keep-on-rocking

Release Date: April 7, 2023

FFO: Nightwish, Tarja, Kamelot, Epica

Location: Moscow, Russia

Short Bio: Anna KiaRa – symphonic metal band with different elements, founded by Anna Moiseeva. Anna KiaRa has two albums so far – Storyteller (2020) and Archangel (2022), each one tells an interesting musical story, based on the ideas of reincarnation, past lives and spirituality. Anna’s magical voice and composing talent merged into one in her music, and no one can stay indifferent to it.

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