I have followed Blackmore’s Night a little over the years. For my money, this album is really kind of a stretch for the band. It seems to move a bit away from the Celtic inspired music that’s such a big part of their sound and into more mainstream rock. This is arguably closer to Deep Purple than anything they’ve ever done. Of course, not everything here is a stretch in the right direction. There is a point or two where it seems to land near the more pure pop rock territory of Candice Night’s solo album. That said, that sound is great for her solo stuff, but I tend to hold Blackmore’s Night to a higher standard. Still, I think this is a great album and it has me excited to see where they go next.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013  Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

This isn’t really the kind of track I expect from Blackmore’s Night. In a lot of ways this is a pretty mainstream rock song. There are even some surprising hints of Deep Purple at times. There are some of the group’s usual Celtic links, but overall this is a definite change.