Tarot – The Spell of Iron MMXI

site | label | buy

To celebrate their 25th anniversary Finnish classic metal outfit Tarot, famous for being the first successful band fronted by later Nightwish bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala, have re-recorded their debut album The Spell of Iron with their current line-up and heavier sound. There are no bonus tracks or new songs here, so what is presented is more or less a straight re-recording of the original ten tracks (including exceedingly silly instrumental De Mortui Nil Nisi Bene) with the band’s new, thicker sound and obviously a hugely updated production. Groover Love’s Not Made For My Kind, debut single Wings of Darkness and grandiose closer Things That Crawl At Night all benefit immensely from the increased clarity modern recording techniques afford, and with the technology bringing the album up to the level of recently successful new albums Crows Fly Black and Gravity of Light, the quality these songs always possessed is allowed to be the primary factor. With all of the bands pre-2006 reunion albums either unavailable or very hard to find outside of their native Finland this re-recording, part of their worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast, will bring these songs to many fans for the first time.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2011, Albums, Heavy Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Tarot