Marko Hietala's 'Roses from the Deep' - Album Review

Since releasing his debut solo album Pyre of the Black Heart (which I reviewed here) worldwide in January 2020, a lot has happened in Marko Hietala's world. The album was actually available in his native Finnish under the title of Mustan Sydämen Rovio the previous year, but I imagine that most people came to it in 2020 - when it was re-done in English and released worldwide via Nuclear Blast Records. He managed to complete a brief European tour in support of the album in early 2020 - but the start of the pandemic in March 2020 put a halt on any further plans to promote it, if any were indeed planned. In truth, the rest of 2020 was likely going to be taken up with Nightwish duties. Human. :II: Nature. (which I reviewed here) was released in April 2020, with touring planned for the rest of the year, but by the time Nightwish managed to get on the road to support their sprawling ninth album Hietala was no longer part of the band. He announced in January 2021 that he was leaving the band due to depression-related issues as well as a growing disillusionment with the music industry. His lengthy statement suggested that he would withdraw from public life for a while, perhaps indefinitely, and it was unclear at the time whether Hietala would make music again. Nightwish have definitely become a weaker unit since his departure, both in the vocal and songwriting departments as he seemed to be the only person Tuomas Holopainen would trust to write for the band, but it was clear that Hietala needed a break - and to get away from the huge touring commitments and pressure that comes from being in a band as big as Nightwish. I hoped that he would be back one day, but if he was done with music then I would have understood. Hietala's career can be traced back to 1982 when he formed Tarot with his brother - and he has been very active since, playing in a number of different bands and turning up on plenty of other albums as a guest. It was great, then, when he started to resume his career in the summer of 2022 - playing a few shows with his all-star cover band Northern Kings as well as with his solo band. Since then, Hietala has been pretty active again. Whilst certainly not hitting Nightwish levels of activity, Hietala has been getting out and about - playing more shows with his solo band, bringing Tarot out of the slumber it had been in since the death of drummer Pecu Cinnari, and even collaborating with his former Nightwish colleague Tarja Turunen by joining her on tour and recording a new song with her (more on that later). This increased activity clearly prompted him to write again and, following the release of some singles over the past few months, Hietala released his second solo album Roses from the Deep last month. Keeping the same band as last time: guitarist Tuomas Wäinölä, keyboard player Vili Ollila, and drummer Anssi Nykänen; Roses from the Deep has similarities to Pyre of the Black Heart - but this latest release is much more upbeat and bombastic. There was a darkness and slow-burning organic prog feel to the last album, but this one is much more fun overall - and likely heavier, too, whilst still having a progressive streak and varied songwriting.

There is certainly a quirky side to this album, then, differing from the more straight ahead heavy/power metal which would likely characterise a new Tarot album. There remains a big influence from 1970s prog and the flamboyance of bands like Uriah Heep and Queen - whilst also feeling heavier and hookier than the previous release. All of these elements are summed up during the opening cut Frankenstein's Wife - a real earworm of a track that stood out to me from the off. Ollila's swirling keyboards open the track, before Hietala sings part of the chorus against this sparse backing - creating an atmospheric vibe before the rest of the band crash in with a bouncy, mid-paced guitar riff. The riff is full of classic rock grooves, with the organic drumming of Nykänen grounding everything, but the verses are a little more low key - with Hietala's bass playing providing the main backing, along with a drum groove and a keyboard depth. The song's main riff acts as a heavy bit of punctuation throughout the track, though, whilst the chorus is much more upbeat to match the drive of this riff - with Hietala's playful hooks really lodging the brain whilst Ollila adds some sparkling synth melodies. A brief guitar solo from Wäinölä adds further to the bluesy classic rock vibes of the track, and showcases his prowess, but this is largely a song which is all about its grooves and a chorus which highlights Hietala's songwriting style nicely - which sets the tone for the overall hooky nature of what is to come. There are two duets on this album, and the first of them is Left on Mars - the aforementioned collaboration with Turunen which was previously released. It is nice to see these two former colleagues working together again, particularly given how publicly Turunen was sacked from Nightwish back in 2005, and this song showcases that their voices still work really well together. It does not sound like a throwback to Nightwish's old sound, and the track very much fits in with the groovy, up-tempo vibe of the rest of the album, but Turunen's classically-trained voice certainly adds a symphonic edge to the piece - which Ollila's keyboards reflect. There is certainly more of a sweeping feel to parts of the track, with strings and a larger overall arrangement - but the guitars still feel rooted in muscular classic rock mode and there is little of the kitchen sink approach Nightwish tend to adopt. The riff is backed by some symphonic strings, though, so there is a grandeur to the piece - but generally the arrangement allows both Hietala and Turunen to shine, and their harmonies during the chorus certainly turn the clock back somewhat. Proud Whore opts for a heavier sound following the hooky hard rock of the album's opening and the sweeping second cut - kicking off with a tight mid-paced riff which soon morphs into something slower and more Black Sabbath inspired. Hietala sometimes includes a Black Sabbath cover in his solo shows, so they are clearly a favourite - and the main verses here hark back to 1970s Black Sabbath in quite a big way, with some bluesy, doomy guitar lines the backing for Hietala's slightly more restrained vocal performance. The production here feels quite raw, with the keyboards only joining in around half way through each verse - building towards a more expansive chorus which sees more emotive vocals, chiming guitar melodies, and retro synths. There is a lengthier and busier guitar solo here, too, which features plenty of shredding from Wäinölä - and this helps to elevate the track further, adding to the overall heaviness in contrast to the doomier riffing.

Two Soldiers is the second duet, and the song is an acoustic-led ballad featuring the deep, gothic tones of Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto (Charon; Poisonblack; Northern Kings; Dark Sarah) - whose voice is very different from Hietala's, meaning that the contrast throughout is excellent. The two have worked together in Northern Kings so their harmonies are nothing new, but the dark ballad is a great use for Leppäluoto's talents - with the early part of the song essentially just featuring acoustic guitars and a string backing, which allows both voices to take centre stage. A spoken word section later takes over, with a delicate piano backing, and the track does grow somewhat from this point - with soaring strings and a more expansive piano-led instrumental section. The rest of the band never kick in, though, despite some occasional percussion adding depth - so the track is a pure acoustic number despite the grandeur added by the production and the soaring vocal performances. In contrast, The Dragon Must Die, at just over eight minutes, is the album's longest and most involved piece. It opens with percussive drums and a slightly tribal feel - but as soon as the main guitar riff kicks in the piece feels much more expansive. The melodies here feel somewhat folky, but there is also an Eastern tinge to their overall sound. Hietala's progressive edge is showcased here, as the overall arrangement is quite varied, but there are still plenty of melodies throughout. The chorus, as is generally the case throughout the album, is very memorable, with Hietala's vocal melodies following the folky vibes of the opening riff, but elsewhere there are acoustic-led verses which double down on the folky elements found during the song's melodies - as well as a fast-paced instrumental section which includes raw, metallic riffing and a later sparkling synth solo. There is a lot of variety within the song's eight minutes, then, and the lengthy instrumental section, as well as a bombastic closing portion, showcases both Hietala's songwriting and the tightness of his band (Wäinölä and Ollila also contributed significantly to the album's songwriting). The Devil You Know reins things in somewhat, opening with a folky acoustic guitar pattern and Hietala's expressive vocals, but it remains a song during which quite a lot happens. At first it seems as if it is going to be a simple, acoustic guitar-led piece, and the verses throughout are generally such, but the rest of the band join in for the chorus - which has a bouncy, quirky vibe which somewhat returns to the overall feel of Frankenstein's Wife. Hietala has a knack for witty-sounding vocal melodies and the band know just how to create strong rhythms to bring them to life. Rebel of the North then returns to a more typical hard rock sound - and there is less of the quirk of the past couple of tracks. This does not mean that it is any less melodic, as it remains another very memorable song, but it is more typical in its arrangement than some of the other cuts here - with a more strident classic rock-adjacent chorus and some snaking guitar riffs throughout. It is a much more organic piece, with a constant guitar presence throughout - including some wah-affected guitar during a later bridge section and a bluesy, emotive solo which follows a flashy, 1970s-esque synth solo.

Impatient Zero is another track which opens in a pretty low key manner, with staccato clean guitars and a percussive backing over which Hietala sings in a slightly ridged and unusual way. There is a slight folky feel to this intro, but the overall vibe is a bit off - and it creates an unsettling tone which helps to set the song apart from the rest of the album. This is another song which has quite a breadth of vibes throughout, though, as things get a lot more expansive as the chorus is approached. All the choruses here are memorable, and this one is no different - with snappy hooks that feel very different from the vocal delivery found elsewhere throughout the song and rumbling Hammond organ. There is real bombast to the chorus, and the two main elements of the song feel so different that it is a testament to the band that the transitions feel pretty natural. There is also a lengthy, heavier section later which featured another Black Sabbath-esque riff which forms something of a bridge and also a backing for Wäinölä's busy guitar solo. The track then closes with a great synth solo from Ollila. Tammikuu (Finnish for January) is the album's penultimate track and, unsurprisingly, it is sung in Finnish. Despite this difference, though, the song is very much rooted in the core sound of the album. It is a pretty up-tempo hard rocker - although there is a bit more of a 1980s vibe throughout thanks to Ollila's keyboard sounds. The more organic sound of the rest of the album remains present, with Wäinölä's main guitar riff feeling like a snappy proto-metal piece from the 1970s, but the later shredded guitar solo is more 1980s and high-octane in vibe - whilst the hooky chorus is full of pulsing synths, again from the 1980s. These differences to help to the set the song apart from the crowd, but I do not feel that the differences are so stark as to make the song really stick out in a negative way - and there is enough of the core organic vibe of the rest of the album, with a dose of quirk, to make everything feel very much at home. The album then comes to a close with its title track, which is much of a slower-burning piece overall. Much of the upbeat and quirk of the rest of the album is largely abandoned here -as the song instead feels like a much more conventional and pretty emotive ballad. Acoustic guitars and strings form the basis of the slow and dense verses, with Hietala singing in a less expansive manner - although he still manages to inject plenty of emotion in his delivery, which only increases through a chorus which feels more expansive due to a drum backing and a denser keyboard arrangement. Bluesy guitar leads are thrown in occasionally, which are then expanded upon by Wäinölä during a slow-burning and lengthy guitar solo that further increases the song's emotional weight. Unlike many of the songs here, there are not really any specific twists and turns. The song essentially plays out how it would be expected to, but the strength of the chorus and the overall feel of the song mean that this is not a problem - and the Hammond during the closing moments of the song is a great way for the album to fade out. I enjoyed Pyre of the Black Heart back in 2020, and it grew on me significantly even after reviewing it, but I think that Roses from the Deep is better overall. There is a real focus on melody throughout and the songwriting twists and turns are very much welcome - meaning that this is an album that can do straight forward and complex in equal measure. I can see this album getting a lot of playtime over the next few months and I hope that Hietala brings this band to the UK one day as I would like to hear these songs live.

The album was released on 7th February 2025 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is Hietala's promotional video for Frankenstein's Wife.