Category: Albums

Well, although at FREE! Magazine we are focused on rock and metal reviews, there is space for all kind of music like this interesting techno album!

Crookers is an Italian duo of Djs that will make you move your feet from the beginning with this collection of 18 remixes. I am not particularly fond of techno music, although I do not mind visiting a club from time to time if the situation requires it. This remix is easy to listen, not too hardcore but not too soft, ideal for warming up at home having a couple of drinks before going out at night to hit the dance floors.

A good album to start feeling the party mood early in the evening!

Rating 3/5

Mustaine is back with another awesome album that digs deep in the roots of the band!

Dave Mustaine is certainly not known for keeping silent and writing ballads (although you can find one in this album). His rage and ferocious guitar riffs are back at his best shape. Mustaine seems to be living a sweet moment in his career, and the addition to the band of Chris Broderick is also an excellent piece of news for the band.

What you have here is a classic Megadeth album, for some fans, one of the best in decades, with powerful tracks like This Day We Fight or Endgame.

Do not expect surprises here, this is another direct shot of metal in your head. But for all and new fans, this album is not going to disappoint you, so Megadeth shows once more that, although the changes in the members, they keep as one of the best act to see and listen to in the metal scene nowadays.

Rating 4/5

The finalist of Finnish Idols 2005 is back with a second Studio album!

After her debut album When the Night Falls in 2006, Agnes, the Finnish singer with Polish roots, is back with another metal album. Actually, opposite to what happens in my native country, Spain, where all the Idols singers are cut by the same mainstream pattern, I even dig this singer! Finland is the country of metal, so people like Agnes and Ari Koivunen keep showing that you can even extract great metal singers from a TV show that anywhere else in the world would suck.

Redemption is a pretty fine melodic metal album. Agnes has great vocal skills and the songs are catchy and well structured. Powerful enough to catch the attention of big masses, although of course, do not expect raw melodies here. Everything is measured. Nevertheless, as I said, after listening to it a couple of times, I liked it very much, with great tracks like For Your Redemption, Don’t fall in Love or the final Tears with a Smile, sang with Ancara, that from my point of view is the highlight of the whole album.

A good melodic album, that can reach both the old metal fans or the young female Emo followers of Paramore.

Rating 4/5

New studio album from one of the most consistent Finnish power metal bands.

Sonata Arctica has always been one of my favorite Finnish bands. It reminds me of those times when I was just a teenager and listened to Stratovarius and Gamma Ray, when I started to go to live gigs and everything was new. So because of that, I feel even more disappointed with their new work. I cannot say it otherway: the album is boring. Maybe it is the change with guitarist Elias Viljanen replacing Jani Litmatainen, maybe it is that the new experimentation with the vocals of Tony Kakko does not work out as it should be, but the point is that the album is much slower, darker, and with lack of spark than previous ones.

Apart from a few tracks like As if The World Wasn´t Ending, I found just an average slow metal album that any other rookie band would have released. But at this stage, you would expect more from the Finnish fellas. I hope they find their way back into track soon.

Rating 2/5

The French metal heads strike back with their second studio album. A more than refreshing experience if you want to listen to heavy metal in other languages apart from English!

Abinaya (the name is Sanscrit) is a French metal band composed by Igor Achard on the guitar and vocals, Nicolas Vieilhomme on the drums, Andreas Santo on the bass and Nicolas Heraud as percussionist.

The introductory song, the homonymous Corps, reminds you of bands like Soulfly or Sepultura, but although percussion has great importance all over the album, there are cutting guitar riffs as well.

A great album, melodic enough to reach big audiences. The only problem is that they use French language in their lyrics, and as we know, nowadays only a few bands are able to break through internationally singing in their native tongue.

All in all, a great and pleasant discovery. It would be nice to see them in the future singing a few tracks also in English. Good metal experience!

Rating 4/5

23 years of musical career are not easy to achieve. For celebrating such a long way, Finnish metal band Waltari releases their 12th album.

Well, Waltari is one of the few Finnish bands that can really claim they “made it” through the international charts, getting very popular in countries like Germany.
What they offer here is another solid album that keeps fidelity to their particular cross-over style. From the beginning with the homonymous initial track Below Zero you can feel their sound and the always particular voice of Kärtsy Hatakka, always accompanied by electron ornamentation in the songs and catchy riffs like in the third track In the Cradle.

Although the album has some ups and downs, and I honestly do not find any track that moves me as much as Get Stamped from their previous album Release Date, Waltari continues being an exciting band to listen, this kind of group that you either love or hate, but will not leave you indifferent.

Rating 3/5

The follow up album of Chisu is undoubtedly one of the strongest Finnish releases of 2009.

It is not easy to be a solo female singer in Finland, and still original, But Christel Sundberg, aka Chisu, manages to do it! From the beginning of the album, with that slight Arabic influence that shows in Lähtö, you have the feeling that this is not the typical depressive pop album that so often you can find in the Finnish market.

Chisu vocal registers are broad, so the same can evolve you in a sad atmosphere that put everybody to move in the dance floor with Baden-Baden, the single that has been overly played all the summer in the Finnish radio stations and pubs.

Chisu is that kind of singer that you love or hate, but at least does not leave anybody indifferent. In the scarcely 35 minutes that the album last you will find songs with attitude and originality that bring some fresh breeze to the pop genre in Finland.

Rating 4/5

Sister Flo is one of the most popular Indie bands in Finland. After some years of hiatus, they are back with a new studio album!

3 years after the release of their latest album, The Healer, Sister Flo is back. Meanwhile, their singer, Samae Koskinen, also had time for a solo album that received excellent critics in the Finnish media.

Actually, I liked Koskinen’s solo project, but I cannot say exactly the same about this new adventure of Sister Flo. Maybe I am not “indie” enough for these sounds, or maybe I enjoy more faster guitar riffs, but I found the record a bit boring. Slow paced, with tracks that are almost fully orchestrated by the instruments with a few voices here and there… It is not a bad album for background music if you are in a cafeteria, or reading a book, but when I listen to an album, I expect the music to be so powerful that absorbs me from the other activities I am doing at that moment and make me remember the choruses, and this is not the case with Au.

It can find their good legion of followers, probably people dressed in colorful jackets and carrying handbags with designs full of flowers… but not my taste.

Rating 2/5

Don’t know if the title has something to do with the Twilight saga, but certainly here you are going to find darker feelings than just those of teenage vampires falling in love…

Finnish doom metal band Swallow the Sun has a privileged position in their national metal scene. Backed up by Spinefarm Records, they introduce us their new album New Moon. But actually, nothing is much new here. The gloomy and vicious atmosphere is present all over the album, and the cutting guitar riffs are leading you to feel depressed in a room just lighted with candlelight. Even slow tempo songs like the “ballad” Sleepless Swans is not something that you would really play to cheer up you future partner in a romantic date.

However, for old fans of the band, and in general for fans of doom and metal genres, this album is well produced, mastered and executed. Mikko Kotamäki’s singing skills are at a high level here, he knows where to push his limits, and the orchestration is pretty awesome during some tracks. But it always happens the same to me when I listen to doom metal, I prefer to listen to just the music without the screams. Consider me an old metal school fan, but I cannot avoid it.

Not a bad effort for the Finnish band, if you are into this kind of sounds. But for the lovers of multicolor rock that transmit good vibes, you better skip this one.

Rating 3/5

Shot at Tavastia Club on April 12th 2009, this live concert is the last one by the mythical Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks. If you are a fan of Finnish rock, and basically of rock history in general, you cannot miss this DVD with the last show of Hanoi Rocks not only in Finland, but as a whole band before parting ways. Monroe, McCoy and their Swedish younger fellas give a great lesson of rock & roll with an astonishing set list where songs from the newer albums get mixed with classics like Tragedy, the opening track.

Although Tavastia Club is maybe a bit too small for filming this kind of big farewell concerts, and the same time, it is emotive to see the packed audience totally adoring their idols in the most famous rock club of Finland; people there cannot refrain tears in their eyes in songs like Don´t You Ever Leave Me. Same that with the members of the bands, also Hanoi Rocks has been able to find a great balance between old and young followers.

As a climax, everybody including old members Nasty Suicide and Lacu share stage to play a kick ass version of Up Around the Bend and say goodbye (or maybe see you later) to a great career for one band that has already entered the history of rock.

The DVD also features a short documentary of 12 minutes, but basically, it does not add much to the package, except for taking a look at the painted walls of Tavastia Club´s backstage. The members of the band record some footage with handy cams, but you can see that everything is a bit “forced” and they are not really happy recording or putting much effort into it.

All in all, a good product to add to your collection if you are a Hanoi Rocks fan, as well as if you want to see one good piece of rock history very alive before getting buried!

Rating 3/5

Related articles:

Interview with Hanoi Rocks:

http://www.freemagazine.fi/content/view/225/152/

Review of Street Poetry:

http://www.freemagazine.fi/content/view/355/152/

{mosimage}After the huge success of their previous work, Riot! Here comes the current favorite band of the Emo boys and girls again!

Some years ago, Paramore would have just been catalogued as another young promising American pop-rock band, but it looks like during last year they have really exploded (maybe it had something to do the inclusion of Decode, the last bonus track of this album, in the soundtrack of the infamous film Twilight).  So far they have managed to tour around the world headlining, which is a great breakthrough.

What we have here is an album with good and bad sides. One cannot ignore the development (in vocal skills and physically, the girl is becoming a real “hottie icon” for the masses) of the red-haired Hayley Williams. She masters the tempo of the album, screaming when she has to scream and going softer when it is about time to light the candles and lighters for a romantic time. In some ways, Paramore can remind you a bit of previous bands like No Doubt, where the dominating presence of the female vocalist is predominant all over.  There are good tracks around the album like Ignorance, the great Playing God or the lovely ballad The Only Exception, but some other songs turn to be a bit boring, like for example Turn it off.

It seems that the band wanted to make everybody happy, both the more hardcore punkers and the emo female teenagers eager to imagine themselves in the middle of the forest surrounded by fairytales like Bella and Edward in Twilight, and in the end the final product is a little bit too much soft and insipid. Not a bad effort though, but it would be nice to see Paramore in a few years when they really create what they want to create without mainstream pressures.

Rating 3/5

The magicians from Devonshire are back with their fifth and most ambitious studio album so far! 

With a lot of effort and overall talent in 15 years of career,, Muse has gained its actual status as one of the super bands in the general rock scene nowadays. So obviously, many gazes were concentrated at what they could offer with this new studio album, The Resistance, after 3 years of silence.

And what you find here is a little masterpiece. Bellamy and his fellows offers a bit of everything to the fans, since the visible wink and homage to Queen in United States of Eurasia, to the great orchestration of Exogenesis, the last song divided in 3 parts, or instant classic rock tunes like the amazing Resistance, this is a delicatessen for your ears. Experimentation and mainstream hold hands together here. The English trio has done it once more, been able to demonstrate that they are one of the most exciting rock bands left in the world. A must have! 

Rating 5/5

“The Resistance” track listing

#	Title	Composer	Length	Amazon links
1	Uprising	Matthew Bellamy	3:50	Download Uprising
2	Ignorance	Hayley Williams and Josh Farro	3:38	Download from Amazon
3	Playing God	Williams, Farro, Taylor York	3:02	Download from Amazon
4	Brick by Boring Brick	Hayley Williams and Josh Farro	4:13	Download from Amazon

The Norwegian duo has been able to make it through the world with their newest album full of danceable tracks!

First time I head the single Beggin' , I thought I was listening to Outkast. Although they affirm that their style is totally different, it is true there is a big resemblance in some of the songs, that wisely know how to mix hip hop and funky to create perfect hits to move your hips in the disco.

But it is also true that Madcon has a big variety of registers to offer, with songs sounding different. That is pretty noticeable in the collaborations, like in the fourth track Hard To Read with Noora or in The Way We Do Thangs with Timbuktu.

Honestly, when I just watched the cover of the CD first time, I though I was going to encounter another boring album of rap with people trying to be cooler than life. But I was happily surprised by Madcon. They transmit a good vibe to put you in the right healthy party mood. A notable effort by the Norwegians, that know how to mix the good Scandinavian way of working with the relaxation and cheerfulness of their African roots.

Rating 4/5

New album of the British trio; from my point of view, one of the best thing I have heard so far in 2009!

Sam Street on the drums, Ben Harris-Hayes on the vocals and Shaun Rayment on the bass are the components of this relatively unknown British metal band featured here. Evolution: Creatio Ex Nihilo is not maybe the catchiest title for an album, unless you are studying a doctorate in dead languages, but nevertheless the quality here is overwhelming.

The band is able to display a wide amount of musical registers without losing the face. Great orchestration like in Waves of Ascension and great vocal skills by the hypnotic Harris-Hayes makes them a good catch if you want to discover a bit more of the underground side of British metal. Even the artwork rocks! 

fF you like metal bands with a personal twist like Tool or A Perfect Circle, you are going to love these ones. 

Rating 4/5

Mustonen is a Finnish violinist who has collaborated with some top Finnish orchestras and artists like Kauko Röyhkä. Here he introduce us his solo album.

If you like nice melodies to chill out in the relaxed environment of a small club or café, you are going to dig the songs of Ufo Mustonen. With a music of great quality, and accompanied by other 6 talented musicians,  Mustonen offers a collection of 11 tracks with great lyrics. For fans of introspective Finnish music, like for example the last work of  Samuli Putro of Zen Café, this is an excellent way of discovering the lights and darks of the Finnish soul. Great tracks like Hopeakylkinen or Villiä Lempeä will hit you instantly. For others, especially if you do not understand Finnish language or prefer more danceable or stronger rhythms, this can make you bored.

At least give it a try. It can be the perfect soundtrack for a first date in a dark café, or enjoying a glass of wine at home while talking about the goals in life.

Rating 4/5