PRESSURE FRACTURES

This Finnish band can trace its' beginning back to more than twelve years ago, when singer and keyboard player Janne Nevalainen first came across drummer Harri Kokkonen. They started playing together in 2002 and over the years other musicians have come and gone, but they stuck it out and the result is this their debut album which was released in 2012. At the time the line-up was completed by Joni Seppälä (guitars) and Sami Järvinen (bass), although Joni moved to Sweden not long after the album was completed. In many ways this is an album of the Seventies, as it has been heavily influenced by the likes of Family from that era and also more recently by Discipline, and while crossover prog is obviously the correct genre, that is because it hits so many different musical areas including that of hard rock.

This isn't a gentle melodic prog album, but something that has rough angular edges that contrast strongly with the fluidity of Joni's wonderful guitars. Although the keyboards are an important part, the use of piano is more direct and powerful, while special mention should also be made of Harri's drumming as there are times when he is working incredibly hard, with a far more rock bent than the rest of the band which also provides wonderful dynamics. It is the fractured nature of the music that makes this such a compelling album, although it does also have it's weaknesses, most notably in that the lyrics don't always work as well in English as they should and Janne's vocals do sometimes go off key. But, both of these are fairly small issues that I am sure will be resolved with the next release, which apparently they are planning at present. Personally I would not have included the final song on the album, as joke pieces only really work once and although I found this fairly amusing the first time I played it, the novelty soon wore off.

An interesting album, quite at odds with most of the current scene, and I look forward with interest to the next one. www.cozhe.com