And here we have the final installment in the trilogy of Dark Sarah albums, the band founded by former Amberian Dawn vocalist Heidi Parvianinen. The Chronicles Trilogy tells of Dark Sarah’s travels through three worlds – The Middle World, The Underworld, and now The Upper World. It isn’t really necessary to listen to the previous entries to know what’s going on although from a musical standpoint, it’s worth noting singer JP Leppäluoto enters the official band lineup for this album. JP’s voice is so cinematic and emotive, that The Golden Moth is akin to listening to a symphonic metal Disney record (which may or may not be a turn off for some).

The Golden Moth isn’t necessarily heavy, as it basks in a theatrical glow with guitars upping the ante in certain tracks (“Trespasser”, the upbeat “Wheel”, and the hopeful “My Beautiful Enemy”). I would have preferred a more razor sharp guitar sound, but it’s understood why there wasn’t as The Golden Moth is very atmospheric and captures the trials and tribulations of Dark Sarah exploring The Upper World with Leppäluoto’s character Charon.

The Disney-esque sound rears its head in the accordion bounce of “I Once Had Wings” with JP leading the vocals and then blossoms into a dreamy epic accented by pianos and Heidi’s fluttery voice. The second half of this adventure turns into the more cinematic elements with the acoustic tinged mysteriousness of “Pirates”, the triumphant “Sky Sailing”, and the blissful ballad “Wish”, which sounds like a track that could accompany Cinderella or a similar type film. Nightwish’s Marco Hietala and Zuberoa Aznarez from Diabulus In Musica appears on “The Gods Speak”, which serves as sort of a climax to the affair and there’s no coincidence the main rhythm of the offering sounds similar to Hietala’s main group. 

And that’s the name of the game with The Golden Moth as the album closes with the supremely atmospheric “Promise”, the title track, and the short epilogue of “The Gate Of Time” as JP bids us farewell. Dark Sarah takes us on quite the adventure to finish The Chronicles Trilogy and is definitely worth a look for symphonic metal fans.