There are lots of good bands out there that never got the world-wide recognition they deserve. Without a doubt, TAROT is one on them. Not to be confused with the British, German or Aussie bands of the same name – this TAROT hails from Finland, and have been making first rate heavy metal / hard rock since the mid-Eighties.
Fronted by talented Marco Hietala, TAROT has always stood comparison with the bigger bands from the genre, and this “Shining Black – The Best Of Tarot” compilation proves it. Two CD’s full of good, timless heavy metal with melody, some progressive, some traditional hard rock – nothing more, nothing less.
And when listening to Marco’s singing, even in the early material (”Shining Black” compiles music from their very first 1986 to 2003) it’s not a big wonder why he ended working with Nightwish, Northern Kings, Delain, and many more. And he has a stupendous solo career too – Marco’s new album featured some days ago is one on the 2025 best so far.
“Shining Black – The Best Of Tarot” is an excellent showcase to discover this strong band from Finland, covering most of their best albums / career.
The boys got a recording deal back in 1986 with the assistance of Finnish pop-rock singer Kirka, and recorded two albums – 1986, and 1988 – before they vanish. Some years later, in 1993, they have a comeback, and after few other LP’s, they fade away again in 1998. This compilation sums up all those years. The cd-one compiles the period between 1986-1993 and the cd-two 1994-2003.
In fact, “Shining Black – The Best Of Tarot” was released to celebrate TAROT’s new 2003 reunion, also releasing a new album.
The first four tracks are from the debut album 1986’s Spell Of Iron. Two of these four tracks were released as singles, and worked well in Scandinavia. Even here in the band’s early stage dominate the familiar Tarot elements: precise, twisted guitar-sound and Marco Hietala’s unique vocals, though they far away from today’s glory. The twin guitar attack takes center scene pure ’80s style, while the solos are just crazy, and there are lot.
There are minor improvements on the second album Follow Me Into Madness, released two years later. The guitar sound has changed a bit (but it’s still big and twisted) and there are more melodic guitar parts. Four tracks have been picked from this album.
But the time handled all traditional heavy metal / hard rock bands with the iron fist, and Tarot among others had to step aside from the way of the thrash explosion. Five years were spent in silence. During that time, the band’s line-up changed a bit.
Second guitarist Mako H was replaced by keyboardist Janne Tolsa, and he is responsible of the biggest change on Tarot’s career. The keyboard parts gave more dimensions to Tarot’s material. First album after the break and with the new keyboardist was To Live Forever, released in 1993. The music is darker, but nonetheless good. There are five songs from that album.
Tarot became big in Japan in those days, so their first live album “To Live Again” (1994) was released only in there, though it was recorded in Helsinki’s Tavastia club. The album has ever been released elsewhere, so it’s been hard to get. Here are three songs, very well recorded and an example of how good Tarot is alive. Sabbath’s ‘Children of the Grave’ is good choice for cover, and the recording is clear, powerful.
On 1995’s Stigmata the music got even more keyboard-orientated, but in favor to progressive. Stigmata contained two cd’s. First one was the studio release and the second had ten songs from the To Live Again album. The band recorded new versions of the songs “I Don’t Care Anymore” & “Descendants of Power” on the same sessions. Here are four songs from Stigmata plus these two re-recordings.
For the Glory of Nothing (1998) was a clear sequel to Stigmata. The are actually no changes between these two albums, except that the For the Glory of Nothing is slightly heavier. Marco’s vocals are even driven through the machine! Five tracks are picked from here.
There are two more songs. The first one is Accept-cover of Generation Clash. This song seem tailor made for Tarot, and their version is fantastic. Tarot’s vision is even heavier, and this track was featured on the Accept tribute-album as well. The last track is a Jethro Tull cover of classic Locomotive Breath, but done acoustically, a nice touch.
Because most Tarot albums are hard to get, this compilation is a must for anyone who appreciates the good trad heavy metal / hard rock from Scandinavia. “Shining Black – The Best Of Tarot” is a very good resume of this strong band still unknown for many.
Highly Recommended
CD 1: (1986-1993)
01. Wings Of Darkness 03:35
02. Midwinter Nights 04:32
03. Dancing On The Wire 03:07
04. Love’s Not Made For My Kind 03:26
05. Rose On The Grave 04:32
06. Lady Deceiver 03:39
07. No Return 04:31
08. Breathing Fire 03:12
09. Do You Wanna Live Forever 05:21
10. The Invisible Hand 06:39
11. Live Hard Die Hard 05:01
12. In My Blood 03:56
13. Guardian Angel 07:01
CD 2: (1994-2003)
01. Children Of The Grave (Live) 04:28
02. Iron Stars (Live) 06:35
03. The Colour Of Your Blood (Live) 04:42
04. Angels Of Pain 03:55
05. E.T.I 07:08
06. As One 05:15
07. State Of Grace 06:07
08. I Don’t Care Anymore (1995 Version) 04:07
09. Descendants Of Power (1995 Version) 03:48
10. Warhead 06:00
11. Crawlspace 03:30
12. I’m Here 03:54
13. The Punishment 04:02
14. Generation Clash (Accept Cover) 06:47
15. Locomotive Breath (Acoustic, Jethro Tull Cover) 03:24
Marco Hietala – Vocals, Bass, Guitars (acoustic)
Zachary Hietala – Guitars
Mako H – Guitars
Janne Tolsa – Keyboards
Antero Seppänen – Drums