Dark Connection

Dark Connection is the third studio album by Finnish power metal band Beast in Black, released on 29 October 2021. Similar to their debut album Berserker, several songs reference well known science fiction series like Blade Runner. The album charted well, ranking number one in their home country, and did well in Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.[4] Four videos were produced for the tracks "Moonlight Rendezvous", "Hardcore", "One Night in Tokyo" and "Blade Runner". The album was dedicated to Kentaro Miura, the author of Berserk.

Dark Connection
Studio album by
Beast in Black
Released29 October 2021
StudioSound Quest Studio, Amethyst Sound Productions
Genre
Length59:14
LabelNuclear Blast
ProducerAnton Kabanen
Beast in Black chronology
From Hell with Love
(2019)		 Dark Connection
(2021)
Singles from Dark Connection
  1. "Moonlight Rendezvous"
    Released: September 3, 2021
  2. "One Night in Tokyo"
    Released: September 30, 2021
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blabbermouth.net8/10[1]
Metal Storm9.0/10[2]
Sonic Perspectives8.9/10[3]

Reception

Upon its release, Dark Connection was praised by critics. Blabbermouth.net spoke positively on the release, mentioning that it is "bursting with absolutely blistering riffs and guitar work", combined with "deeply infectious vocal work and choruses", concluding that "At the end of the day, in terms of art and creativity, Beast in Black has hit the ball out of the park with album number three."[1]

Sonic Perspectives praised it, commenting: "Having been at the forefront of bringing the worlds of melodic metal and 80s post-disco/synth pop together for the past decade, former Battle Beast guitarist and mastermind Anton Kabanen, and his current fold of veteran metal warriors, usher in their latest studio venture in effortless fashion, proving that what is old can indeed become new."[3] Games, Brains & a Headbanging Life called it a very satisfying listen, besides a few tracks that don't have as much oomph as others. It's "one that shows just how much they've grown and just how bright their future is."[5] A reviewer from Metal Storm praised it, and stated it as being the bands strongest album yet; Praising all aspects such as performance, production, overall sound, and album cohesion.[2] MetalMusicPlanet deemed it as being "Absolutely essential listening for fans of the genre and for anyone who just loves any kind of melodic Rock or Metal music."[6]

Tracklisting

All tracks are written by Anton Kabanen, except where stated

Dark Connection track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Blade Runner"4:07
2."Bella Donna"3:52
3."Highway to Mars"5:13
4."Hardcore"3:34
5."One Night in Tokyo"3:07
6."Moonlight Rendezvous"5:38
7."Revengeance Machine"4:09
8."Dark New World"3:57
9."To the Last Drop of Blood"3:55
10."Broken Survivors"4:25
11."My Dystopia"5:51
Total length:47:48
Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Battle Hymn" (Manowar cover)Joey DeMaio, Ross Friedman6:54
13."They Don't Care About Us" (Michael Jackson cover)Michael Jackson4:32
Total length:59:14

Personnel

Beast in Black

  • Yannis Papadopoulos – lead vocals
  • Anton Kabanen – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards
  • Kasperi Heikkinen – guitars
  • Máté Molnár – bass
  • Atte Palokangas – drums

Additional personnel

  • Cynthia – keyboards
  • Mikael Salo – backing vocals
  • Paolo Ribaldini – backing vocals

Production

  • Anton Kabanen – production, recording, mixing, orchestration
  • Roman Ismailov – artwork
  • Yannis Papadopoulos – mixing (assistant)
  • Jarmo Katila – photography
  • Toni Kilpinen – photography (editing)
  • Emil Pohjalainen – mastering
  • Janne Peltonen – layout

Charts
Chart performance for Dark Connection
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] 144
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] 168
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 1
French Albums (SNEP)[11] 165
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 13
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 31
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 53
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 11
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[16] 7

References
  1. Jay H. Gorania (25 October 2021). "Beast in Black Dark Connection". Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  2. "Beast In Black - Dark Connection review". 25 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  3. Jonathan Smith (28 October 2021). "Beast In Black – Dark Connection (Album Review)". Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  4. "Dark Connection by Beast In Black - Music Charts". ACharts.co. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  5. Carl Fisher (25 October 2021). "Album Review: Beast in Black – Dark Connection (Nuclear Blast)". Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  6. Andy Hawes (22 October 2021). "Album Review : Beast In Black: Dark Connection". Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  7. "Austriancharts.at – Beast in Black – Dark Connection" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  8. "Ultratop.be – Beast in Black – Dark Connection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  9. "Ultratop.be – Beast in Black – Dark Connection" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  10. "Beast in Black: Dark Connection" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  11. "Lescharts.com – Beast in Black – Dark Connection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Beast in Black – Dark Connection" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  13. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  14. "Swedishcharts.com – Beast in Black – Dark Connection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  15. "Swisscharts.com – Beast in Black – Dark Connection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  16. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 February 2023.

Official music videos

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