The singing bass player who looks like Gandalf and helped establish the Finnish symphonic-metal band Nightwish as a genre pioneer back in the early 2000s used that band’s self-imposed sabbatical to record the first solo album of his 35-year career. The result is Pyre of the Black Heart, a diverse disc of “hard prog” inspired by Finnish folk music that is both dark and redemptive. Introducing a new spelling of his first name—previous credits refer to the 54-year-old as “Marco”—Hietala eschews the aggressive vocal style with which he infuses Nightwish and his heavy-metal band, Tarot, for something considerably softer.
Yes, there’s plenty of muscle and majesty in songs such as “Stones,” “Star, Sand and Shadow” and “Death March for Freedom,” but he also reveals an appealing introspective side, especially on “I Dream” and the orchestral “Truth Shall Set You Free,” the two ballads that close the album. Pyre of the Black Heart was released in Finland last year as Mutan Sydämen Rovio.
