Anniken – Climb Out Of Hell

Anniken
Climb Out Of Hell
Rockshot Records
Out: May 13^th, 2022
Playing time: 38:29

Anniken is a musician from Aalesund, Norway, whose real name is Anniken Rasmussen. Under her stage name Nikki Pink, she is the singer and bassist of the Power Metal band Darkest Sins. She also writes the lyrics for this band. She has been passionate about Heavy Metal and singing since she was a child. And she has a Bachelor’s degree in music.

As a solo artist, she writes and performs her own music. Her music is heavy and melodical and her lyrics are mostly based on own experiences.

That made me curious, of course. The album was co-written by Anniken and her husband Marius Danielsen. The album cover is a combination of two paintings by Anniken’s grandmother Sylvie Rasmussen.

The album starts very melodically. In the opener “Spotlight” you can hear a lot of orchestration. Anniken’s singing sounds pleasant, with a dark timbre. A nice Rock number. The title song “Climb Out Of Hell” is a bit more rocking. But it is still more of a midtempo rocker. “Back Then” is the first beautiful ballad on the album. It is followed by “Just Walk”, another rock song in the midtempo range. Here the vocals sound a bit harsher and thus more reminiscent of Metal. The catchy chorus that can be sung along quickly, however, provides a Melodic Rock attitude again. “Keep The Light” is one of the quieter songs. “Star” is the next ballad, with acoustic guitars and discreet orchestration. “No Name” is a bit more Melodic Metal than the songs before. There you go, there you go. And there’s another ballad on the album (“Save Us”), before “Amplified” really brings out the Metal axe. Only midtempo, but with beautiful distorted guitars and powerful vocals.

On her solo album “Climb Out Of Hell”, Rock singer Anniken Rasmussen goes somewhat different ways than with her main band Darkest Sins. However, their last release (“The Broken”) is already six years in the past. “Climb Out Of Hell” contains a multitude of timelessly beautiful Rock songs and heartbreaking ballads. Only towards the end does Anniken go back to her roots and show what she is capable of as a metal musician. I would have liked to hear more songs like “Amplified”.

ANNIKEN – Keep the Light (Official Music Video): https://youtu.be/k8W6yM08ND8

Lineup:

Anniken – Vocals
Marius Danielsen – Guitar, Bass
Gabriels – Orchestrations (Tracks 1,2,3,4,6,7,9)
Peter Danielsen – Orchestrations (Tracks 5,6)
Alessandro Kelvin – Drums
Marius Danielsen David – Choirs
Åkesson Growl – Choirs
Brandon Bordman – Vocals

Label: Rockshots Records

Out: May 13^th, 2022

Playing time: 38:29

Track list:

• Spotlight
• Climb Out Of Hell
• Back Then
• Just Walk
• Keep The Light
• Star
• No Name
• Save Us
• Amplified