Dark Connection

Dark Connection is the third studio album by Finnish power metal band Beast in Black, released on 29 October 2021. Similar to their debut album Berserker, several songs reference well known science fiction series like Blade Runner. The album charted well, ranking number one in their home country, and did well in Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. Four videos were produced for the tracks "Moonlight Rendezvous", "Hardcore", "One Night in Tokyo" and "Blade Runner". The album was dedicated to Kentaro Miura, the author of Berserk after his death earlier that year.

Reception
Upon its release, Dark Connection was praised by critics. Blabbermouth.net spoke positively on the release, mentioning that it is "bursting with absolutely blistering riffs and guitar work", combined with "deeply infectious vocal work and choruses", concluding that "At the end of the day, in terms of art and creativity, Beast in Black has hit the ball out of the park with album number three."

Sonic Perspectives praised it, commenting: "Having been at the forefront of bringing the worlds of melodic metal and 80s post-disco/synth pop together for the past decade, former Battle Beast guitarist and mastermind Anton Kabanen, and his current fold of veteran metal warriors, usher in their latest studio venture in effortless fashion, proving that what is old can indeed become new." Games, Brains & a Headbanging Life called it a very satisfying listen, besides a few tracks that don't have as much oomph as others. It's "one that shows just how much they've grown and just how bright their future is." A reviewer from Metal Storm praised it, and stated it as being the bands strongest album yet; Praising all aspects such as performance, production, overall sound, and album cohesion. MetalMusicPlanet deemed it as being "Absolutely essential listening for fans of the genre and for anyone who just loves any kind of melodic Rock or Metal music."

Personnel
Beast in Black Additional personnel Production
 * Yannis Papadopoulos – lead vocals
 * Anton Kabanen – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards
 * Kasperi Heikkinen – guitars
 * Máté Molnár – bass
 * Atte Palokangas – drums
 * Cynthia – keyboards
 * Mikael Salo – backing vocals
 * Paolo Ribaldini – backing vocals
 * Anton Kabanen – production, recording, mixing, orchestration
 * Roman Ismailov – artwork
 * Yannis Papadopoulos – mixing (assistant)
 * Jarmo Katila – photography
 * Toni Kilpinen – photography (editing)
 * Emil Pohjalainen – mastering
 * Janne Peltonen – layout