Auri

Auri is sort of an acoustic/no-distortion version of symphonic metal. A folk version of Within Temptation, but with generic songs of far lesser quality. Should we call it symphonic folk or just over-produced bland Disney folk? I don't know, but what I do know is that I don't like it. The music of a song like "Aphrodite Rising" could be on the Frozen soundtrack and that is not a compliment. The lyrics I don't know and I don't care.

Auri I glad I never have to listen to this again

I was surprised to find a Finnish Prog Folk band that I hadn't heard of on this list. I listen to a lot of Finnish, prog and folk music. Listening to this it sounded a LOT like Nightwish without the orchestration. Looking at the band, it turns out it's just Nightwish in a trenchcoat. But the more modern, overproduced Nightwish. Honestly, this one is a miss. I think it's better than the modern Nightwish offerings, but not by much. I listened to the band's entire catalogue and it was all pretty much the same. Really strong 13 year old edgelord vibes.

I am usually a sucker for this kind of music. Her voice is extraordinary. But the overall effect falls a little short of magical or mysterious or ineffable and lands in the canny valley instead. Which is to say, kind of boring. The production is too clean maybe? Not enough layers? Like it is on a well lit stage instead of happening in a misty forest. I don't know. But it doesn't get over the hump from good to great for rme.

Didn’t really dig this melodramatic woodland fairytale soundtrack LP, felt a bit overblown and could’ve cut so much fat out and gotten to the point. Just not my thing, really

This sounds magical. Angelic vocals. Fun music

A real fantasy feel to this album had me imagining quests and wood nymphs such. Interesting… I loved the journey and would happily listen to this again.

Sounds like what I imagine getting laid at the ren fest feels like (complimentary)

Wikipedia has a quote describing their sound as ‘rabbit hole music and celestial metal’ which is perfect

Prog-psych-indie-folk - maybe the only album hitting all four of those! Beautifully written, sung and produced, but drags a little towards the end and feels a bit one-paced on repeated listening. A really good collection of songs, which (for me) falls just short of greatness.

There was an earlier offering by related band Nightwish and my review there works well enough for this. That didn't strike me much as metal and this doesn't strike me much as folk. Nothing against it but I find it a little too dolled up and glossy.

A progressive folk album by some of the people behind Nightwish. Never heard of this project before, it’s decent

A little too generic. Not enough Finnish

Game of thrones music. A bit dramatic overall

My first thought after a song or 3 was why are all the vocals on quarter or eighth notes? It sounded childishly stilted at times and was distracting... But it gets better, and I do like when the second vocalist enters. Overall an interesting blend of dramatic scandinavian almost-symphonic melodies with a dollop of Celtic shanties ... Honestly not sure how I feel about this but it's just different enough while definitely still being accessible ... i.e. it might not be my favourite thing but I can appreciate it 6/10 3 stars IMO: should be in the book? Maybe

Not really interested

Scandi folk prog. Its a bit wet.

Funny that Apple Music categorizes this as metal. This was more akin to pop music. It’s very much a European album as the band is Finnish and some songs have a sort of Irish rock. It felt somewhat operatic as well and just wasn’t something I thoroughly enjoyed. It wasn’t bad just not for me. 5.2/10

Based on the cover alone - this is a vocal metal album isn't it? No. It's progressive folk, which is like vocal metal but slower. It is, upon listening to it, the most solidly "Two" album I've heard in over 1,500 attempts.

More Disney soundtrack than Finnish folk.