Category: Albums

{mosimage}Veteran English band The Charlatans come again with their 10th studio album that could be purchased by fans totally for free!

The Charlatans have never had good luck, when compared to other contemporary bands that gained them in popularity or in bringing new fresh ideas (Oasis, Radiohead). No wonder that the title of their 10th studio album is You Cross My Path. After more than 20 years on the road, many circumstances have crossed the path of the guys from Birmingham, so it has a lot of merit not only that they gave the possibility to get their new album totally for free from their website, but overall, that the album is a little masterpierce exhaling quality.

Tim Burgess masters the lyrics and the vocals and pieces like Bad Days, The Misbegotten, the easy to dance Missing Beats or the raw and furious album´s homonymous You Cross My Path. A pity The Charlatans would barely climb to the top level of worldwide musical attention, but it is still a pleasure to see how well they keep themselves alive and kicking good pop-rock!

Rating 5/5.

{mosimage}Sakara Records, the same company behind Mokoma, features the debut album of Black Bile.

Black Bile is the personal project of Henri Kuittinen, who is behind the vocals, guitar and programming in both the album and live. On stage, Kuittinen has other 4 musicians supporting his project. It has been produced by Janne Saksa, and we have to say that the record sounds compact, professional and fresh.  From the first introductory song Earth Will Rise, the drums push steadily from behind while Kuittinen´s vocals evolve you; a nice first step that gets perfectly backed up by the second song, Valerian, a little jewel with powerful riffs and astonishing beautiful lyrics.

There cannot be missed the typical melancholic Finnish feeling in lyrics like Light that Failed or Divorced with the World. It is a pity I could not check the band on live during Sinamore and Animal Alpha´s concert in Tampere few weeks ago, as it was supposedly to be scheduled, but for being the first studio album, Black Bile sounds like a project that can reach very high in future years, if Kuittinen is consistent and is able to find musicians that will work with him on a permanent basis.

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}Led by guitar wizard Alexi Laiho, the metal wandering souls from Lake Bodom are back on the road!

Children of Bodom has become one of the most exportable Finnish metal band worldwide. Now it is about time to see released a new studio album: Blooddrunk. Being considered as one of the top black metal bands, it is not an easy task to please die-hard fans and more classic metal fans equally. This album is definitely a compromise for COB, trying to spread their music to all kind of publics.

The result is easier to swallow than previous darker albums, so that can be good and bad at the same time. Probably many old fans can feel a bit disappointed with the noise developing to more “thrashy”, but personally I like a lot the new album. It is full of power and great  guitar riffs, with the unmistakable voice of Laiho reigning in every song, but it has also some keyboards that can remind you good old classic metal from the 80s, like in the second track Blooddrunk or in One Day You Will Cry (that counts also with a brutal guitar solo).

A good step for COB to consolidate and amplify his market around the world. If you are thirsty to see the band live, you will have a good chance at the beginning of June during Sauna Open Air Festival in Tampere.

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}You thought that catholic metal did not exist in Finland? Then listen this Frozen Inside and feel the glory of metal surrounding you…

Well, if you have any doubt about the religious preferences of HB, just take a look at the song list that forms their album Frozen Inside, with names like God Has All Glory or Holy Secret, and you can have an idea. I have never been a great fan of mixing religion and heavy metal, but since this is a free world, same than others are devoted to devil, there seems to be also place for God and Love in the heavy metal church.

In the album you can find a bunch of lyrics with poetic messages and good wishes of love widespread for the Finnish guys. Musically the album sounds correct although nothing out of the hook compared to other metal bands; not a bad effort though, and listening to the sweet voice of Johanna Aaltonen is certainly a delight.

If you enjoy bands like Within Temptation or Evanescence, with a touch of religious message, then this album is for you. Not so recommended to people who wear pentagrams, Hell-sinki vampires and blood drinkers…

Rating 3/5

{mosimage}Rock & Soul prophets are here, led by the beautiful and charismatic voice of Lisa Kekaula.

The Bellrays is a band made to be tasted in small clubs, with the smoke of cigarette, the sweat and the taste of alcohol mixed in the atmosphere with the hypnotic voice of Lisa Kekaula.

Some of you maybe were lucky to see them on live during their recent visit to Finland some days ago. For the others, you always have the chance to listen to their new album: Hard Sweet and Sticky, and get immersed in a particular musical experience where rock and soul seem to melt with no effort. After the starting track The Same Way, that is maybe not the best election to open the album, comes a festival of good music and vibes with little jewels like One Big Party, the Motown soul of Footprints on Water, the rockin´ Psychotic Hate Man that flirts with punk  or the sensual The Fire Next Time.

Maybe with guitarist Tony Fate, the band has lost some ferocity, but all in all, the album is a little masterpiece, mastered by the throat of Lisa, an ebony goddess able to steal your heart samely whispering or screaming into your ears.

Rating 5/5.

{mosimage}Were you missing those catchy melodies of the American AOR of the eighties? Brother Firetribe’s members certainly were!

When you hear from first time the name of the band: “Brother Firetribe” you imagine just another heavy metal project as the other thousands that try to gain ground in the competitive Finnish and European market. But probably you will get shocked, if not at least surprised, when you see behind this project names like Nightwish´s  guitarist Emppu Vuorinen or Leverage´s vocalist Pekka Heino involved in one of the purest AOR albums that you can have seen released in Finland in the past… history?

Certainly, if you loved that period of music when everything seemed to be more easy going, when groupies adored musicians who looked ambivalent like girls and when Jon Bon Jovi still had a long hair that could make jealous to any model from a Vidal Sassoon ad, then certainly this album is for you.

In their second studio album, the band pays tribute to all the classics of the genre (there is even a genial cover of Mike Reno, Chasing the Angels) and display some epic moments in songs like Heart Full of Fire, with a memorable vocalist duel between Heino and Annete Olzen, the vocalist of Nightwish, or in the catchy I Heard It on My Radio to add the cherry on top of the cake with the final track I am Rock, that totally with blow you off; I played the song 3 times in a row in my CD Player first time I put my hands on the album, being one of those songs that will make you feel like listening to a rock classic instantly.

Many virtues ornate this excellent work by Brother Firetribe, and it is a pity that probably there won´t be many chances to see the band alive, being the members involved in their other projects. Do not give love a bad name, and run to get this excellent Heart Full of Fire!

Rating 5/5.

{mosimage}From Chicago comes a good breeze of Beatlesque pop/rock released by the legendary US label Mesa/Bluemoon Records.

This is the first rock album released by Mesa/Bluemoon, well known in the past for their jazz artists. And obviously, it could not be any average album, but a little masterpiece called Abstract Man. Opposite to its title, the album is very focused on a pop/rock classy style that can remind you The Beatles or more contemporary bands from the British invasion like Oasis.

Easy going songs that catch you without effort,  uptempo songs that mix ballads with good doses or rock.  Radio Man is an excellent starting for an album well measured, and with a definitive personality and some taste from the new continent in tunes like Lollipop Guild or Only in America.

A little masterpiece that makes you travel to an unique Universe that exhales freedom, passion and sensibility. A must have for lovers or good rock with roots.

Rating 5/5.

{mosimage}From Chile with love, or better said, with Doom metal, come the 5 components of Mar de Grises.

The music of Mar de Grises suits very well with Finnish taste: dark metal with good doses of melancholy. No wonder that the South American band would be visiting recently the Finnish territory to play on live.  Four years after their first studio album, they release a good, more polished and solid work that is just collecting good critics and reviews from fans and publications all over the world. 

It is not easy from South American metal bands to jump the Atlantic Ocean and make a name in Europe , so it is doubly praising the risky attitudes of Juan, the vocalist, and his 4 fellows companions.  I must recognize that I am not a great fan myself of Doom metal style, and I prefer more classic melodic metal, but for those of you who vibrate with the dark side of the heavy music, no doubt you will enjoy with songs like Sleep Just One Dawn or Kilometros de Nada.

Good luck to the Chilean guys in all their future projects!

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}Discover the harmonious voice of Heidi in this nice debut album.

From Tampere comes Moon Madness, a melodic metal band with a female singer, Heidi Bergbacka that can remind you for some moments to bands with similar style like Nightwish. They have been gaining experience touring around Finland with bands like Sonata Arctica, and now comes their first studio album: All in Between. 10 songs that sound mature and directly influenced by the old school metal that these guys have been listened all over the years (Iron Maiden, Stratovarius, Dream Theater…).

Songs like Torn or Too Much to Lose sound musically rich and catchy, and surely would aim at ranking very high at any metal top chart all over the world. The problem that Moon Madness has to face and try to accomplish is the eternal comparison, being a Finnish metal band with a female singer, with others like Nightwish themselves or new bands like Amberian Dawn.

All in all, a very good first effort for the “Tamperelaiset”,  an album well produced and easy to listen and gain a place in your CD collection.

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}Swedish-Finnish Project leaded by Marko Tervonen, which moves between thrash, melodic gothic and heavy metal. 

Angel Blake is born mostly as the personal project of Marko Tervonen, who was the one taking care of recording most of the instruments during this second album of the band. Later on, new musicians have been added and also left the band, until forming the present line-up with Tobias Jansson taking care of the vocals. Guitar riffs sound sharp; drums are straightforward pushing the lyrics and Jansson´s vocals skills, although not among the best in the heavy metal scene “per se”, are full of energy and feeling, fundamental to catch the right vibe of songs with a marked dark metal spirit, although always keeping a melodic line.

After the changes in the formation and the ups and downs, it is to be praised that Tervonen and company were able to release a work that sounds mature enough to be at the same level that other outstanding gothic Finnish bands, and songs like Anywhere in Here or When All the Lights Are Out are into my favorites of the record, powerful but very listenable at the same time.

Nevertheless, it will be nice to see the progression of Angel Blake in future works, and if the line-up is more settled and the other members can feel more participative to achieve albums that can make them move forward from the big mass of gothic bands wandering the stages of Northern Europe.

Rating 3/5. 

{mosimage}After 5 years, it is about time for a new album of no-man, under k scope record label.

Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness are back on the road with Schoolyard Ghosts, a little treasure that goes deeper and deeper into your soul at the same rhythm than the xylophone that sounds shy but firm in the background of the introductory track All Sweet Things.  A collection of little jewels that make difficult to highlight just one, although if I have to choose, I pick Beautiful Songs You Should Know as my favorite one of the 8 tracks that will leave you begging for more.

A list of top calls collaborators such as Theo Travis on the saxophone, Gavin Harrison, Pat Mastelotto, Bruce Kaphan and the Philharmonic Orchestra of London to square an amazing album full of sensibility, feeling and excellent music.  A rich sonic palette, with some psychedelic moments like in Pigeon Drummer, painting a melancholic but shiny album that you must not miss in your CD collection.

Rating 5/5.

{mosimage}The Presidents of USA are here again, and not for robbing banks, but for featuring their sixth album.

Seattle based band attacks again and brings the party to your home with their new studio album: These Are the Good times People. A smart and entertaining album, a bit more of sophisticated in the conception and the sound, but with the same degree of mischief than ever, starting from the first track Mixed Up S.O.B. (do you guess what the initials mean?) or the exhilarating More Bad Times.

The album consists of 14 songs with not many ups and downs, forming a solid block of good tunes perfect to spice up an open air party. The Presidents like it fast and raw, with songs that usually do not exceed more than 3 minutes and go direct to the point. For those of you who thought that the Presidents of USA were dead or in rehab, here comes another good dose of great listenable rock and roll to make you move your feet while putting a smile in your face.

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}Michael Stipe and his band REM had not released a studio album since 2004, but it was worthy to wait!

The guys from Athens, Georgia (not Greece) are back, and in excellent health. From the first ravaging song Living Well Is the Best Revenge, with a demolishing bass and heavy guitar riffs, REM shows that its period of auto-reflection is past, and it is about time to come back to the roots of Out of time, Automatic for The People or Monster: direct songs, politically involved but more “light” to listen to, with a good doses of speed (nevertheless the 11 tracks are compressed in just 34 minutes of a certainly resounding album).  

Many winks to their old albums in the style, and Stipe in excellent shape on the vocals, transmitting a refreshing spirit in tracks like Supernatural Superserious (the first single of the album) or Hollow Man that reminds that light spirit involved in old classics like Shiny Happy People. It is great to have Buck, Mills and Stipe back with a solid record that sounds, if not better than ever, at least as good as a decade ago. A great comeback.

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}The Canadian Bryan Adams is back with 11 tracks for his 11th studio album. Guess the title of the record…

11 songs, 11 tour dates and 11 studio albums in his career. Bryan Adams has been around, no doubt about that, and wants to pay a little homage to himself and his extensive career as one of the most influential pop/rock musicians of the last decades with this new work:  11.

What you can find here is Bryan Adams deeply into the style that has made him famous (especially among the female audience). Good love tunes, a soft rock easy to listen and lyrics that are not going to sound risky at this stage of his career.

Songs like I Thought I ´d Seen Everything or I Ain´t Losin´the Fight are the perfect compositions for a soundtrack of a Hollywood romantic comedy, and surely they can rank high in the charts worldwide, but it is difficult to find any excitement or to foresee any kind of risk in the Canadian´s career.

Pieces of music of undoubtedly good quality to listen with your couple with a good bottle of wine on the table during a romantic evening, but do not expect any extra musical excitement here.

Rating 3/5.

{mosimage}Debut album from the young metal heads from Helsinki.

With only 8 tracks in their homonymous first album, Tracedawn were able to gladly surprise me from the first moment with the introductory track Without Walls. Nevertheless the guitar riffs and vocals of Antti Lappalainen can remind you quite much of the young Blind Guardian. Later, the fusion of melodic tones with rougher screams can make you think of other influences like Crematory, like in the fifth song In Love with Insanity.

The album sounds compact, and you can appreciate the hand of Nino Laurenne (guitarist of Thunderstone) keeping an eye there. Good quality that goes far beyond my initial expectations, although if we can add a “but” 8 tracks taste like little,  and 3-4 more songs would have been highly appreciated make the final product more squared.Tracedawn will be steeping into the summer festivals, like at Tuska or Sauna Open Air.  An excellent chance for fans of good metal to seize them on stage.

Rating 4/5.