Inverse 2013
Welcome To The Den
As bonkers as it gets for a metal-sniffing specialty, Finnish sextet serve up a perfect six o’clock setup.
A certain Lewis Carroll character wouldn’t approve of this band’s look, as he reckoned long hair wants cutting, unlike their music that’s nicely trimmed when it comes to laying down heavy riffs and finely frilled where in needs a special power. Its cover and introduction notwithstanding, their first album doesn’t dwell on fantasy – save, perhaps, for instrumental pieces such as electric symphony “Legacy Of The Kings” – but takes a swipe at our world’s craziness, so the likes of the cinematic “Sinister Monologue” where Taage Laiho’s voice shines as the song swings from a ballad to a belter, and the orchestrally majestic title track hit hard in the most picturesque fashion.
Not that it leads away from sharp rock ‘n’ rolling which flows from Jaakko Hanninen and Kari Korhonenthe’s twin-guitar attack and Petja Puumalainen’s organ in “Sharks Of Power” or “Blind Leading The Blind” where social critique floats on the metal surface, while the harmonic layout of “The Dark Wheel” will appeal to URIAH HEEP fans and “Journey” reveals the ensemble’s folk sensibility, opening the door for the further development. Here’s to another level of derangement!
****
