This is the debut EP from Finnish hard rockers Rekoma and they remind me a little of acts like Ireland's Sinocence, which works for me. There also might be a tinge of Gothic rock/metal like Tiamat in there. The Sinocence influence came in for me during “Trial” with Tiamat style Goth riffs being a bit more apparent on the album's closer “Down The Drain.” Jani Redkin doesn't have the most crystalline clean vocal approach, but he does hit some hefty albeit modernized growls within the piece. Most of it really seems to revolve around the guitar work of Samuli Maunula (lead) and Arttu Korpela (rhythm) as well as the drumming of Juha Iloha which all rounds out to a very rock feel, which some occasionally heavy vocals and downtuned bass riffs courtesy of Antti Maunula. Even on chunkier cuts like the title piece, there's nothing hugely metallic about this disc and it often feels more like a hard rock disc than a metal one. It's still very good from that sort of compositional standpoint, showcasing a quintet attempting for a heavy, yet still soft enough for radio-play sound that may have taken as much of an influence from American hard rock as it did from Goth rock. There's certainly nothing wrong done here, and I think it could appeal to fans of this kind of music outside of Finland, for sure – they'll just have to be aware of a slightly different vocal approach here than you might expect from American hard rock and there's the accents, as always. Though slightly raw and tough to discern in some instances, I'd certainly like to hear Rekoma continue as there's assuredly something here in the musicianship alone.
(4 Tracks, 19:00)
7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment