Category: Albums

{mosimage}The most popular Portuguese band is back with a new studio album.

The fans of Moonspell must feel happy, since the awaiting was not very long since Under Satanae to have in their hands a new studio album.

Fernando Ribeiro and his boys come into business here deepening into black metal style, far from former more experimental albums. Gothic atmospheres, fracturing riffs and the skills and personality of Ribeiro that leaves once more signs of his good skills as composer. The starting At Tragic Heights goes straight to the point, exhaling the best elements that have made Moonspell to be considered one of the best black metal bands of the last decade.  Another highlight in the album comes with Scorpion Flower,  a beautiful composition that counts with the collaboration in the vocals of Anneke van Giersbergen.

A return to their dark roots that surely will work out pretty well in the charts and consolidate the band into the fans hearts. No place for big surprises here, but there weren´t any needed in any case. Ribeiro´s multisided personality as musician, poet and translator is able to catch the audience by himself, and the band has the maturity to rock the stages and transform the melodies into great shows full of energy.  Many of you had the chance to see that during last Tuska festival where the Portuguese were one of the best performing bands in the Finnish capital.  Good to see that they did not rest on their laurels and came back so soon with another great album!

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}The band from Kuopio features their third studio album, ready to devastate the stages during summer season.

Brutal vocals getting mixed with more melodic tunes, sharp guitars, hammering drums and explosive keyboards. Shade Empire is able to twist a bit more the black metal genre, achieving a difficult task, to sound commercial but still with a personal style. Harju´s voice is all what you can expect from a dark metal singer and more, if not, listen to the track Harvesters of Death where he gives an impressive lesson of how a death metal singer must perfom, and there is a sweet impression left from the skills of Rasane at the drums as well. Not without reason that the band ranked at the top 15 of the Finnish charts in the first days of the release of the album.

But all in all, Shade Empire faces the same advantages and problems than many of their “brothers” metal bands in Finland. On one hand an excellent audience in love with heavy metal open to the genre, and a wide circuit of concerts around Finland (for example, you can see them in the incoming Tuska festival), but on the other hand, a voracious competence not only with the international market, but also inside Finland´s scene, a place where during the last couple of years, when you kick a stone, you can find a dozen new metal bands.

Shade Empire sings in English, what makes it always more open to a wider international projection (and easier to understand for our readers). Zero Nexus is a good mature album that surely will fix the band´s position more firmly into wide Finnish metal scene.

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}Indie band Soul Tattoo brings some sunlight into the Finnish souls with their new and fresh album.

With not many resources but a lot of illusion and skills, Malaga is one of the nicest surprises in the Finnish music scene during the first months of 2008. Mixing rock, pop and blues, with a certain dark touch, the music works and hits you from the first time you listen to the album. The band of Samuli Laiho and J. Sydänmäki has achieved a rounded work with anthems like Feather Girl or Magic Hat. For some moments the vocal skills remind me of a young Bono like in Let the Light In.

Soul Tattoo shows that indie scene in Finland is healthy, and there is more to explore than just heavy metal.  I am looking forward to seeing them on stage, to check if they sound as good on live as in this outstanding album. A must have for lovers of good music and new experiences.

Rating 5/5. 

{mosimage}24 years after the release of their last album, the legendary British electronic band is back with a new record.

Recorded in California in just 18 days, Go Away White is the new work of Peter Murphy, David J, Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins; a beautiful swansong, being announced as the last album performed by a band that wanted to pay homage to themselves. 

The album explores the rock side of the band, unusually power guitar riffs in songs like Too Much 21st Century or Adrenalin. But there is also space for those old famous keyboards in Undone or Eternal Summer of the Damned. Murphy´s voice works perfectly when screaming or just whispering, claiming the place of honor that had been taken in the last months by the rebirth in the media coverage of other bands like Joy Division.

Same than vampires are able to stand the pass of years, the band offers a mature record, full of fractured guitar and uneasy melodies that have nothing to miss from their music of two decades ago. Without big pretensions, Go Away White will surely satisfy the old fans that had already lost hope to see a new album of the band, and supposes as well an excellent chance for those who were not born yet when Murphy and company stepped on the stages in the 70s to discover the dark magic of their music.

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}After 30 years on the road, Coverdale and his boys are back again with a new studio álbum to show that they still know how to rock.

If this album had been released a couple of years after Whitesnake, being such a high hit in 1987, probably we were talking a different story here. But unfortunately, for many people in rock scene Whitesnake and Coverdale are considered old dinosaurs, so it is difficult to break that barrier and have an objective approach to their new studio     album. 

A work that all in all shows as much balls and guts as their old good records. From the opening Best Years, that sounds like a powered version of Brian Adams ´Summer of 69, continuing with Can You hear the Wind Blow, the compulsory great ballad Summer Rain, the bluesy A fool in Love or the blowing Good to be Bad, the album is a great collection of lyrics, ripping guitar riffs and Coverdale´s vocal skills. This gentleman has the honor to be one of the best singers ever in the melodic rock history, and here, even aging 57, shows shy. 

Last time I saw Whitesnake was during their visit to Helsinki 3 years ago, being simultaneously the birthday of Coverdale, and nobody got disappointed with the show. He connected from the first instant with the public, received flowers and kisses from the female audience and showed once again that rock never dies. Surely you must not miss them in their incoming visit to Finland in June to Sauna Open Air in Tampere.

Rating 4/5.

{mosimage}Quickly cooked and served! Fast music world. At the beginning of March, The Raconteurs finished the masters of their second album and just a couple of weeks later, the album is released all over the world, in every possible format, from download to vinyl, being the latter the recommended format by the band. So here goes a quick review on the day of its release.

This immediate distribution is another step for the fast changing music industry. It not only avoided the album from being leaked, but it has also brought some attention to a release that needed no presentation. The band’s first album (Broken Boy Soldiers) was one of the biggest surprises in 2006 and it created a lot of hype due to the popularity of the band’s line up, which includes Brendan Benson and White Stripes’ Jack White. The song Steady, As She Goes became a hit and the band was quickly as a supergroup. Now, without little announcements, the band comes up with its second album Consolers of the Lonely.  This time it cannot be said that this is a long-awaited album, but no disappointment here. The band delivers a refreshing dose of garage rock, with some hard rock riffs and lots of ideas and originality (for a genre with little room for this quality).

This album’s single, Salute Your Solution, is a quick three-minute song, with crunchy guitars and crazy melody. It easily tops Steady, As She Goes and along with R.E.M.’s Supernatural Superserious, it can become one of this year’s hit singles.

Like in the first album, there are clear references to Led Zeppelin’s music. The mid-tempo Old Enough captures the folky vibe of Gallows Pole and the opening track, Consoler of the Lonely (like in the first album, the title track is in singular and the album title in plural), brings some Jimmy Page-like riffs.

Perhaps the most surprising songs include some soul oriented moments, which bring some horns to the mix in The Switch and the Spur and, overall, in Many Shades of Black.

Consolers of the Lonely is a rocking album (just listen to the smoking Hold Up), delivered with a tremendous energy and spontaneity. It is fast and direct, not so moody as Broken Boy Soldiers. If the band keeps up with this energy on stage, The Raconteurs shows can be epic.

Rating 4/5 

{mosimage}Second album by the guys from Helsinki: Kometa. 

The three-piece band from the Finnish capital features their second studio album: A Strange Revelation, after releasing in 2005 their debut record Like a Light Bulb.

The band is well known and experienced in the Finnish music scene, having played in hundreds of venues here, including some big festivals, and having also visited other foreign countries such as Germany or Estonia. That experience gets transformed into maturity and consistency in an album that surprises all over the 11 tracks. From the starting guitar riffs of Jet Pack to the final song that is named after the album´s title,

Kometa achieves something lacked by many Finnish bands: a personal style. Rock with guts and a feeling of assisting to a controlled sloppiness while playing that for some moments can remind you of The White Stripes in songs like Holy Spirit or Quit.

They will be playing during March and April in the biggest Finnish cities, and surely it is a band worthy to check on live.

Rate: 4/5

{mosimage} “Hyrde”, “Pexi”, Kaikka” and “Kake” are the four members of Stam1na, one of the most interesting metal bands in Finland nowadays. are the four members of Stam1na, one of the most interesting metal bands in Finland nowadays. 

Raja is the third studio album of a band that shows a lot of “sisu” not only in their names. After signing with Sakara records in 2004, all the critics have been favorable to a band that, far from the usual shyness of the Finnish society, is quite pompous on and off stage.

Lyrics in Finnish that combine speed metal with progressive rock, all under the control of the powerful voice of the vocalist Antti “Hyrde” Hyynynen. It is not just by chance that they are currently sharing stages around Europe with that big Finnish phenomenon called Apocalyptica.

Raja has only 10 tracks, but diverse enough not to have the feeling that the album is too short or too monotonous. Metal riffs close to Kotiteollisuus in a song like Kädet vasten lasia, a drum on fire in the initial tracks Hammasratas and Susi-ihminen or heavier guitar riffs in Vartijaton makes the album one of the most interesting compositions released in the extremely rich Finnish metal scene of the last months.

 It would be interesting to see if in the future they would jump to sing lyrics in English too. 

Rate 4/5.

{mosimage}Looks like the Finnish Winter left some black hearts in Joensuu. 

51 Koodia has been around since 2002. After Nimetty and Rautaiset Linnut, they release a new studio album, being their most ambitious project so far. It has been recorded in the legendary Finnvox studios in Helsinki and the promo photographs have been taken by Ville Juurikkala, the photographer or the Finnish rock stars. With so many good ingredients to create a good cocktail, the only thing left is that music answers to the high expectations.

And certainly the quality of the sound is pretty good. Pete, Om, Jutte and Hannu achieve a square work of good rock/pop with the unavoidable doses of Finnish melancholia in the lyrics. Vocal skills are pretty decent and the compositions sound catchy and rocky enough, like in the romantic Toivomus  or in Mustat Sydämet.

Nevertheless, the band will face the usual problems of these kind of works: the limits of singing in Finnish language, and a soft rock style that will delight a fair amount of female fans, but will make them difficult to become more mainstream in a saturated market. Just a good album of Finnish pop-rock, but do not expect big surprises here.

Rate 3/4

{mosimage}I am not sure that Ironica – no, wait, iRonica – is that entire smart name for a band.

Of course, the world is full of good bands with crappy names, but still, I find it somewhat hard to look at this Finnish five-piece’s debut album without fearing the worst. Luckily, the record is better than what the band name suggests.           

It would be fitting to describe iRonica’s music as power metal with female vocals. Having a female lead singer in a metal band hasn’t been a new concept in years, but luckily, iRonica are not another Nightwish copy band. The band’s fast-paced, very melodic metal is performed solidly and with conviction. They are not the most original band around, but they clearly have their place in the local music scene.           

The focal points of iRonica are guitarist/songwriter Ville Nepal and singer Elina Iron, who both handle their respective fields well. The song writing is sharp, although there are some less-exciting tracks as well, and Iron is quite different from standard female metal vocalists. Her vocal sound is kind of dirty, and she sounds genuinely angry. The other musicians handle their respective fields well, also, although some cheesy synth sounds and drum fills appear.           

The kind of metal that iRonica plays is not really my cup of tea, but I have to admit they are good at what they do. Despite the name. 

Rate: 3/5 

{mosimage}Kauko Röyhkä, the (somewhat) unsung genius of Finnish rock music, makes an interesting and unexpected career move.

Kauko gets reunited with his old collaborator, guitarist Riku Mattila, who used to play in his band in the beginning of eighties, when both of them were just starting out. Since then, Mattila has played with many other Finnish musicians and become a respected producer, whereas Röyhkä has continued his career as an artist and an author.           

Despite being a good songwriter and one of the best Finnish lyricists ever, Röyhkä has always been a bit uneven artist. However, he has made good records during all the years, and with Mattila, he sounds better than in a long time. Somehow it looks like these two guys can really bring the best out of each other.            

There are plenty of good songs. The album opener Helvetti is surprisingly dark and melancholy for a Kauko Röyhkä track, but it works. Odotetaan kultaista laivaa is a much more positive, relaxed piece with brilliant lyrics and an equally brilliant guitar solo by Mattila. And the album closing epic Välitila shows that nobody can put a short story to music better than Kauko Röyhkä.           

The overall mood of the album is very loose and easy-going, like one could expect – Röyhkä and Mattila have nothing to prove to anybody. That this record has been the biggest commercial success of Kauko Röyhkä’s career is at first surprising, but in the end, it feels very logical. After all, this is a huge artistic success as well. 

Rate: 4/5 

{mosimage}After Poverina, the Finnish artist releases her second studio album. 

Compared to other female singers such as Kate Bush or Tori Amos, Astrid Swan is undoubtedly one of the most “exportable” Finnish singers, out of the heavy metal scene. Having released simultaneously her debut album in USA and Finland, and having toured in the new Continent quite often, there is no doubt that Astrid´s career is lead to perform in more places than just the relatively tiny Finnish market.

I must recognize that first time I heard this Spartan Picnic, I did not like it at all. The rhythms were too commercial, but after giving it a new chance, I started to like more Astrid´s vocal skills. Songs like This Could be Mother´s Milk or For Those Who Drown will make you move your feet and give a very positive vibe, while some others as Continents can make you appreciate Astrid´s quality as a singer while intonating a slow tempo ballad.

Still, if I have to compare her with other Finnish artists closely linked to America as Janita, I still prefer the later one. Not a bad album thought, but it will take some time to catch the fully taste.

Rate 3/5.

{mosimage}Norther is a Finnish band founded in 2000, with Petri Lindroos as vocalist (previously he sang in Ensiferum)

The band features their fifth album “N” after leaving Spinefarm and signing with Century Media, company with whom was released some months ago the EP No Way Back. This new N has stepped into the Finnish charts quite powerfully, reaching the number 5.

Previously in 2007 they were touring around Europe, including a gig in the German festival Wacken, and they have also seen their formation reinforced with the drummer Heikki Saari. The band has a more melodic sound that others like Turisas or Moonsorrow, and Lindroos can exhibit his excellent vocal skills. Back vocals are good in tracks like To Hell (that for some moments can remind you of Crematory), good guitar riffs and a consistently hammering drum, although my favorite song in the album is one of the “Softest” ones: If You Go.

Norther has been able to make a difference inside the huge Finnish metal panorama. A mature work of a band able to offer a wide amount of variety in their compositions. Pretty recommendable.

Rate 4/5.

{mosimage}The front man of Finnish band Maj Karma is in good company with the debut album of his new Project.

Mr. Ylppö, who apart from being the singer of Finnish successful metal band Maj Karma works also as graphic designer, gets surrounded by talented people in the first album of Herra Ylppö & Ihmiset: Iranian-Finnish  Hamid Moeini on the guitar, Jami Westergärd who is also a theatre actor on the bass, Jukka Kröger on the drums and Janne Halmkrona, the guitarist of CMX, as special guest.

The band is currently on tour around Finland, so you can have a taste of the project on live. The sound is not as powerful as Maj Karma´s one, but still you can find the special mysticism of Ylppö´s lyrics in the work. My favorite tracks is the homonymous to the album title, Sata Vuotta, and Kleopatra, where you can get totally caught by the special voice of Herra Ylppö, but some other songs are very interesting as well, as the one called Porno, raw, sexy and straight like if we would be listening Kotiteollisuus, and one of the “heaviest” of the record.

In my opinion, one of the best Finnish albums of the last months.

Rate 4/5.

{mosimage}Being barely 19 years old, Adele is one of the new sensations of the year, coming from South London.

Even at such a young age, Adele had already had time to work with Jim Abiss, Eg White or Mark Ronson, sign with the powerful XL Recordings company and support artists such as Jack Penate, Amos Lee and Devendra Banhart. After her debut album Hometown Glory, Adele features his first mainstream work: 19.

The first thing you have to notice after starting to listen to it is Adele´s incredible vocals skills. A power of nature that digs deep in your soul while listening to it. Neverthelss, as the artists recognizes, the album talks mainly about love, about a past relation with a bisexual boyfriend that could never be as good as she expected. Consequence of that is a melancholic tone that bathes every one of the 12 tracks. As my favourite ones, I would highlight Chasing Pavements, Tired or Hometown Glory.

Discover the wicked voice of Adele. I hope that being so young, she will follow the correct steps and do not get burnt in the difficult music industry. 19 will turn undoubtedly into one of the nicest surprises of 2008. 

Rate 5/5.