Our Fragile Echo (3897 A.A. album)

**Our Fragile Echo** is the ninth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Our Fragile Echo, released on December 31, 3897 A.A. through Fragile Echo Records. The album is noteworthy as the band's first release following its seventeen-year hiatus, as well as being the first Our Fragile Echo release featuring a new member of the band.

It is also the band's last album featuring lead vocalist and bassist Päiviö Selänne, who announced her retirement from Our Fragile Echo on the day of the album's release. She stated her desire to focus more on her acting and film career.

## Artistry

### Musical style

Critics consider the album a “return to form” for Our Fragile Echo, describing it as symphonic metal, gothic metal, power metal, and classical. The album incorporates elements of alternative metal and metalcore, such as screamed vocals, down-tuning, solos, and breakdowns.

"Long John Silver and the Search for Treasure Island" is classified as a pirate metal song blended with elements of symphonic metal and power metal. "The Man with Two Faces" is a symphonic gothic metal song that incorporates elements of melodic death metal, with critics also describing it as symphonic death metal. "The Greatest Show On Earth (Part II)" features elements of film score, cello metal and early music. It also contains samples from Ice Nine Kills and Nightwish ("The Greatest Story Ever told" and "The Greatest Show on Earth", respectively), re-recorded by Our Fragile Echo for the album, with Ice Nine Kills and Nightwish credited as writers on the track.

The album features vocal styles consistent of singing, falsettos, and, although infrequently used, screaming. The album's twelfth track makes use of growled vocals, contribute by a guest vocalist.

*Our Fragile Echo*, as a whole, draws comparison to film scores, due to its cinematic, epic, theatrical, and operatic approach, as well as to the music of Ice Nine Kills and Nightwish.

### Influences

Our Fragile Echo cites Evanescence, Nightwish, DragonForce, Epica, Ice Nine Kills, After Forever, Rhapsody of Fire, Within Temptation, Alestorm, and Stargazers as the album's main influences.

Classical composers are also cited as influences on the album, primarily Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Johann Christian Bach.

### Themes

*Our Fragile Echo* primarily focuses on mythological and fantasy themes. Other themes included in the album's lyrics focus on fantasy novels such as J. R. R. Tolkien's *The Lord of the Rings* and Richard Adams' *Watership Down*, drawing comparisons to Nightwish. Gothic themes, such as homages to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, are also present on the album.

The delux edition also contains homages to fantasy films such as *Dragonheart*.

## Personnel

Our Fragile Echo
* Päiviö Selänne — lead vocals (1-3, 5-14), bass guitar, harmonica, piano, celesta, keyboard, triangle, snare drum, lyricist, composition, production, mixing, programming (1-14)
* Sini Nykänen — co-lead vocals (2, 6, 7, 12, 14, 19), backing vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, synthesizers, ukulele, technical (composition, paintings, creative direction, art direction), lyricist, production, programming, mixing (15-18)
* Kullervo Venäläinen — rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, double bass, banjo, backing vocals
* Heljä Ketola — acoustic guitar, wind instruments (saxophone, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon), brass instruments (trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba), backing vocals
* Hellä Karttunen — drums, percussion
* Juliette Fisher — additional vocals, backing vocals, stringed instruments (harp, violin, viola, mandolin, cello, hurdy gurdy, harpsichord), technical (composition, lyricist), production (15-19)

Additional personnel
* Anya Starveil Castella — lead vocals, bass, piano (4, 15-19), guest vocals, additional bass guitar(6, 10, 14), backing vocals (5), technical (production, composition)
* Maggie Scott — guest vocals, additional guitar (9, 14)
* Nanika Young — guest vocals, additional guitar (12)