With the release of ISON’s sophomore in 2021, Daniel Änghede proved that he can continue with ISON as successful as before, when Heike Langhans was still on board. On Aurora he united not only one but eight vocalists, each of them interpreting one track, what made Aurora a unique and very special record. Of course, it was interesting to see, how ISON would develop from there. Musically, I guess, there have been several options. But, at the end, Daniel Änghede decided to continue with the concept of multiple singers, just in a slightly different way. Well, I think it's a bit of a pity, because it steals Aurora’s uniqueness.  

ISON’s new cosmic gem, Stars & Embers, features Lisa Cuthbert as lead singer on all tracks. She has also contributed all lyrics. With Daniel himself on background vocals, Dimming (Luminescent Reverie) and circle&wind (Radiant Void) join as guest vocalists, as well as Dark Tranquillity’s own Mikael Stanne as duet partner on Peregrination and Beings Of Light.
Lisa Cuthbert as sole singer would have been a great decision. She has a similar timbre as Heike Lanhgans and so, vibes and magic from earlier releases still shimmer through the songs. I also wish that Mikael Stanne would have sung his parts all alone. Duetting with Lisa, his charismatic voice, or the focus on it, gets lost a bit. But it was an excellent idea to get him involved. Just remember Alcest’s Neige singing on ISON’s debut Inner-Space. More collaborations like this please :)
When it comes to the two female guest singers, to be honest, they don’t touch me this time. It’s peculiar as circle&wind has already contributed such a stunning track to the predecessor.

Musically, Daniel still ranges within known spheres and soundscapes. Songs and structures still follow the same, meanwhile uniform formula. In return, Daniel worked much more with analog machines this time, which add more electronics and give a warmer sound to the whole. Heavy, powerful parts get used less and more accentuated. But that’s all rather marginal changes. As for me, Daniel could/should experiment much more with genres, voices, sounds and machines in the future ;)  

I know I nag, and yes, I think, Stars & Embers falls short compared to earlier releases. That’s not only a matter of taste. But don’t get misled though, Stars & Embers is still a wonderful record to be listened to again and again.
To me, there are no stand-out tracks this time. It’s rather moments in the tracks that cause goose bumps. And this happens mostly, when song parts get gruff and heavy ;) But ISON records always work as a whole too. Despite of its running time of good 72 minutes, and single tracks running up to 16 minutes, Stars & Embers never gets lengthy. Much the opposite. You can wonderfully immerse and get lost in the songs.