One of an increasing number of bands known individually and collectively as "Finnish Metallers". As in "Finnish metallers,
Amoral..."
Clearly, Finland is fertile ground for "Metallers". If only they all sounded as good as
Amoral.
Signing on with
Amoral has taken new vocalist,
Ari Koivunen another long step away from reality show ignominy.
Two solo albums under the supervision of Nino (Thunderstone) Laurenne went a long way to securing some kind of credibility. Now he's stepped right into the firing line, fronting an established band with an international reputation and a considerable fanbase.
'Show Your Colours' is an uneven ride in places, with the band resorting to flatpack metal assembly on a couple of tracks, most notably
'A Shade Of Grey' and '
Gave Up Easy'.But when they're good - when they pick up the pace, punch hard and place a premium on spare, razorcut riffs and splintering rhythms - they touch the sky.
Look no further than
'Song For The Stubborn',
'Year Of The Suckerpunch' and
'Vivid'. Each one is a slick, sexy, take-no-prisoners metal rush, totally free of the genre's usual twin stalkers, bloat and bluster.
Elsewhere,
'Perfect Design' is blues for the metal generation, while the short and ironically lyric free,
'Random Words' is an atypical, but classy combination of soughing strings and acoustic guitars.
This instrumental opener cleverly paves the way for the epic, achingly desolate
'Release', probably the album's standout track. The manner in which this song accelerates through the verse into a massive wave of riffs and a soaring chorus is an object lesson for all "metallers" in how to do it and get it right.
Despite the very occasional stumbling step, this is a fine album. For vocalist and band perhaps, a marriage made in metaller's heaven.
We shall see.
Written by
Brian Friday, May 8, 2009
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