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Blog Categories Review Anna KiaRa - Archangel - Reviewed By allaroundmetal!

Anna KiaRa - Archangel - Reviewed By allaroundmetal! Monday September 25 2023, 5:34 PM

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Anna KiaRa - Archangel - Reviewed By allaroundmetal ! Check it out here at this link: https://www.allaroundmetal.com/component/content/article/26-releases/10539-kiara-il-secondo-album-fa-intravedere-buone-potenzialit%C3%A0

KiaRa is the group of Anna KiaRa (born Anna Moiseeva), also singer of the Russian Imperial Age, and this "Archangel" is the band's second album, initially released as a self-production in mid-October 2022, then released by the unknown DI Records in April 2023. The full-length is composed of no less than sixteen tracks for a total duration of almost 65 minutes; it is not a double CD, but a single album of considerable length. To be honest, it would have been better to reserve some pieces (such as the three orchestral versions at the end or the native language renditions of the title track and "We are the stardust", on tracks 12 and 13) for a future EP in order to make listening easier and easier. Furthermore, not all the pieces work properly and there are songs that are a step lower than the others (such as, for example, “Жена князя (Prince's wife)” or “Last goodbye”) which contribute to making listening difficult. of this album. If we then add that some songs are not in English, but I believe in Russian (a language not understandable to many), the picture is complete. Anna KiaRa handles the symphonic well, singing in an expressive and flexible way, without ever sounding cloying and intelligently avoiding exaggerated lyricism. The groove of the guitar by Pavel Vredes (ex-Imperial Age) and, unfortunately only in some pieces, the lively rhythm imposed by the drums of the excellent Max Talion (also ex-Imperial Age) contribute excellently to the sound performance. And it is precisely the fastest songs where KiaRa give their best performance; songs like the hard opener “God of war” (almost bordering on symphonic black in some situations), the following “By the grace of the Lord”, but also the catchy “Hope” or the dark and already mentioned “We are the stardust” are excellent examples in this sense. KiaRa also like to be very melodic, even if I think they make the mistake of putting a few too many slow pieces together; Let me explain better: songs like "Black Sun" and "Nostalgia" are certainly pleasant, but placing them in the tracklist one after the other doesn't seem to me to be a happy choice and they would have worked better if interspersed with a few tighter songs. KiaRa can definitely do better than this and they have all the qualities; However, the fact remains that this "Archangel" is not unpleasant at all, despite its exaggerated length, and certainly allows the Russian group to reach sufficiency. For the future, however, it will be necessary to give more and concentrate one's talent and qualities in a smaller number of songs, so as to make the next album more effective and engaging.

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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