Reviewed by Greg Sammons

Just because this band is a female-fronted metal outfit from Finland does not mean I should lazily compare them to Nightwish! They may sound a little like them in the beautiful quieter moments, but when the band gets heavier it moves to a much more thrashy, melodic and almost prog direction. A good amount of passion and feeling is portrayed in Veronica's vocals but she does, at times, sound a little shaky; however she can throw in some thrashy screams at times that sound pretty good. For me, the standout track must be "The Path", it's such a powerful song. The song opens with plodding guitars as Matthew 28:18-20 is spoken faintly in the background. Then it kicks in big style! The extreme, duelling male and female vocals on the verses along with the fierce and frantic guitar playing sound brilliant as they lay out the path for the plodding chorus with calmer, clean female and male vocals. It's hard not to scream along with the lyrics, "The armies of Heaven and Hell/Are marching around you, can't you tell?/Will you pick up your sword, join the good fight?/Or will you be cast out by the evil might?" Musically the band are keen to arrange the four main songs, with as much variety as possible. As an example, in the melancholic "No More"' the listener is caressed by the sound of a violin. Whilst this may not be the most polished piece of metal you'll hear this year, I am left in no doubt as to the amount of potential (coupled with the impressive talent they already possess) this young band has. Bring on their full length album, and make it soon!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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