Polanski – Between This and Hate

 Apparently there isn’t a really big grunge scene in Finland at the moment. Who knew? Not me, of course. But I found this extremely weird because . . . well Finland and the countries in that area are revered for having a massive metal community as we all know, so why isn’t there more variety like grunge? I’ll never know but this band, Polanski, is proof that Finnish people can make just about any rock and metal music and make it sound completely badass. And “Between This and Hate” is no exception to that rule at all. This entire album … Continue reading Polanski – Between This and Hate

Letheria – III Mockery

 Finland! That name alone should carry some weight among the metal community. I can say with confidence that there is at least one band that originated from Finland that has mastered at least one of the many metal genres. While Letheria isn’t one of those masters, they are close in my opinion. But they have managed to make an excellent album that combines black, death, and thrash metal into one great piece of brutal work that isn’t one to be taken lightly. “III Mockery” is an album that has all the great aspects of those three genres and they all … Continue reading Letheria – III Mockery

Sarvas (self-titled)

 I’m telling you Finland is the world center for anything and everything metal! If I ever get the chance to visit there, I’m fucking going. Anyway, Sarvas’ self-titled debut album is another one to add to the ranks of good Finnish metal. While I’m just going to classify this as metal, the drummer, Jani-Sebastian Aalto, had this to say about the style of this album: “Sarvas is a 5-piece Metal band mixing genres like Sludge, Groove, Stoner and Doom into a unique, raw entity of massive auditory goo that combines the crunchy, traditional sound with some more modern, technical elements. Rather than … Continue reading Sarvas (self-titled)

Grimace – Gates of Mind

 I don’t know what it is with these Northern European countries like Finland and Sweden but goddamn can they make some awesome metal! While HammerFall, Amon Amarth, and Volbeat are just three examples that immediately come to mind there are of course many many other artists out there who have amazing talent and deserve a hell of a lot more attention that what they’ve already received. Grimace is one of these unknown bands. They have an amazing sound to them that hasn’t ceased to amaze me throughout the entirety of their debut “Gates of Mind”. While I’m gonna label this … Continue reading Grimace – Gates of Mind

Prayed and Betrayed – The Abundance of a Sickened Mind

 It’s always nice to know when bands try something different, and it’s even better to know that said band pulled it off exceedingly well. And that is apparently what Prayed and Betrayed has done with their new EP “The Abundance of a Sickened Mind” that has (according to the email they sent me) a style that “has changed from the traditional death metal to a more technical and melodic heading” which is fine by me in any case I like death and melodic metal so this band can’t really go wrong for me. The band managed to pull off this transition … Continue reading Prayed and Betrayed – The Abundance of a Sickened Mind