Tarot is not a name I’m familiar with, despite them being around since 1986. They are a Finnish 4-piece metal / hard rock band, led by Nightwish man Marco Hietala on vocals. Crows Fly Black is their 9^th album. 

Tarot play a no-nonsense brand of old-fashioned metal with plenty of crunching guitars, pounding bass lines, thunderous drums and screaming vocals – what more could you want !!! 

If you want comparisons, then Judas Priest come to mind most readily for me, although the vocals are neither as strong or high-pitched as Mr Halford’s. There’s also more than the occasional Hammerfall-type influence. 

There’s plenty of old school metal for you to savour on here, but personally I think the band come into their own when the pace lets up just a touch, in the form of tracks such as “Tides”, “You” and “Grey”, when the band display a more melodic side to their playing, whilst retaining the hard rock edge they always have.

Tarot should be commended for having stuck to their beliefs and continued to put out “proper metal” albums all through the grunge period and beyond, right up to the present day.  It would surely have been much easier to give into the “fashion” of trying to change themselves to fit the current climate, which so many bands fell guilty of during that time. The fact that they could carry on and flourish is a reflection of their quality as musicians as well as their single-minded determination to do what they do best. 

This is one of the better old school metal albums I’ve heard in a while and I recommend it to all those of you who like their music without compromise, but full of quality.

Let us know your views on 'Crows Fly Black'

Track List

Crows Fly Black
Traitor
Ashes To The Stars
Messenger Of Gods
Before The Skies Come Down
Tides
Bleeding Dust
You
Howl!
Grey

Line Up

Marco Hietala - Bass & vocals
Zachary Hietala - Guitar
Janne Tolsa - Keyboard
Pecu Cinnari - Drums
Tommi  Salmela - Voice