Review: Amberian Dawn- Take a Chance – A Metal Tribute to ABBA

Power metal veterans Amberian Dawn are back with their 10th  studio album and their first-ever covers album, Take a Chance – A Metal Tribute to ABBA.  The band has tackled 11 tracks from the legendary Swedish pop/disco group, and they do not disappoint. Amberian Dawn are no stranger to covering ABBA, having included their cover of “Lay All Your Love on Me” on their previous full-length effort Looking For You. “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” is highlight on this record. It is unmistakably the iconic ABBA song that everybody knows and loves, however, the band adds their signature power metal flair. The signature slap & pop bass part is included in the bridge and transitions seamlessly into a more chunky-sounding riff before launching back into the chorus. It\’s not only the popular ABBA tracks that the band decided to cover. Take a song like “Head Over Heels” for example. Amberian Dawn do this song justice, and possibly even turn people on to a track that would not have gotten much love otherwise. Vocalist Päivi Virkkunen does a fantastic job of capturing the sound of each ABBA vocalist at certain point, and she is even able to strike a balance to where she’s channeling both at the same time. There’s no way we could discuss this album without covering the legendary track “Mamma Mia”. It’s exactly what you would expect from this style of band covering ABBA. It keeps the high-energy sound from the original while adding just enough power metal elements. This album will not be for everybody. It has a very specific niche. ABBA fans, power metal fans, and ABBA fans who are also power metal fans. However, this album full of ABBA covers does the original tracks justice and then some. It is not as cheesy as it could have been, and that’s saying something for two things that many people say are incredibly cheesy – ABBA and power metal. Rating: 7.5/10 Standout Tracks: “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” “Head Over Heels” “Mamma Mia”