THIS IS THE WORLD WE KNOW

Here's the first review - or any rating, in fact - for this Finnish crossover prog band from Helsinki, a new acquaintance for me too. In short they play melancholic, more or less heavy but still rather melodic rock. Even some Neo Prog elements can be heard in the sound. They have been compared to e.g. Anathema and Paradise Lost. I read elsewhere that the debut Ghostlines (2008) is more clearly in the metal department; here they have shifted towards more atmospheric direction. (Good for me, for I'm not a metalhead at all!)

One thing in the line-up is unusual: the female member Mari Jämbäck only plays keyboards. A pity, because I would have welcomed some female vocals thrown in the mix. Ilpo Paasela's vocals are not plain bad, but they have a bit too much depression in the delivery. The songs are only slightly progressive and they mostly use the same structures and tempi: not very fast, nor very slow; now a more aggressive part, followed by slower and more delicate one, etc. etc. Of course there must be tempo variation both within AND between the songs, but I feel that I would have to listen to this album several times before I would really learn the tracks individually and put them in preference order. Now - listening to the CD for the second time - I take it as just one continuation which is OK in the chosen genre I'm not so fond of, ie. fairly listenable even for me, but sadly the disturbing, metallic growl parts and the more enjoyable, melodic parts often come within the same track. In a similar way again and again.

I suppose this is a fall-in-between case. Too close to metal for a Neo Prog listener and too unoriginal to steal the attention of fans of numerous bands of heavy melancholia. What else to say... The production is good, the sound has respectable clarity even if the guitars are mostly in the metal music style. Keyboards could have taken a more central role if I was asked. If the vocalist was different and the most aggressive parts were taken off, I would actually have pleasure from this album. The songs have a lot of potential and emotional power but they are too much of the same on the album's course. 2½ stars, rounded up for the nice cover design.