Often our ship of imagination sets sail for distant and unknown seas, while the flame of adventure flows from within us. Living in a time where such expeditions are not provided, the power of our mind and of our imagination guide us through the road, towards the exploration of the unknown. This may not leave us with any evidential experience, however all of us are spending countless hours, building our own imaginary adventures in our mind.
The reason behind these thoughts of mine is a rather particular occasion and a person that resides in the distant and cold Finland. A place where the nights, the cold and the inspiration are a way of life. Antti Martikainen, an independent composer, inspired by several pirate stories, composed his own imaginary adventure and invites us upon his boat that sets sail towards “The Golden Age”.
In “Set Sail for the Golden Age”, Antti Martikainen managed to give a unique approach to the pirate stories. The whole album is an instrumental tour of one hour and a half, under the banner of “Epic Pireate Metal" that could be considered as a hybrid of what we have seen, read, heard or even imagined, of how a pirate life could actually be.
In this journey we are all invited to awaken the pirate that we hide within ourselves, as we've been imagining him when we were watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies or when we were listening to the legendary, and musically unsurpassed, pirates Running Wild. However, it would be unfair to compare this album with the Running Wild albums, because, as it was mentioned before, we are dealing here with a completely different musical approach.
The song titles are related to whole stories and with the help of the music, we have the opportunity of creating our own pirate journey. Each composition has a gradual course of evolution, with epic melodies, that will stuck to the listener's mind for a long time (see “Barbarossa”). The only certain thing is that this album carries that sparkle that triggers the tension and manages to win over the listener from its very first notes.
The secret for someone to achieve the ultimate musical experience in “Set Sail for the Golden Age”, lies within the tension of the sound. So, don't feel sorry for your speakers, turn up the volume, select the surround option, sit in the middle and set sail for a special musical journey that will thrill you, since its production is crystal clear.
Antti Martikainen has composed, with “Set Sail for the Golden Age”, a musical pirate adventure that may sound familiar to us thematically, however when you listen to the album, you discover quickly that the music you are listening to is going to accompany you in many journeys. It is clear that we are dealing here not only with one of the greatest instrumental releases for 2016, but one of the greatest instrumental releases in general.
90/100
For Rock Overdose,
Periklis Sivris
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