Whispered
Metsutan - Songs of the Void

“Epic is a descriptive term bandied about a lot these days, but nowhere can it be used more fittingly than in describing the upcoming release from Finland's Whispered!” says the record label or whoever described the band for us press people. That means they think that the new album by Whispered is the thing most fitting to the epic term; more than every book written, more than any movie produced, more than any album, any fable, the thing that defines the term epic is an album by Finnish band Whispered – that is a very grand claim. Not only that, they are also said to have devised their own genre, samurai metal. Not only that, they have also done a masterpiece, according to what the press release states about this album.

It sounds so exciting in the press release and they do have some interesting Japanese sounds that spices up their Scandinavian styled melodic death metal. Strong production, strong sound, quite typical death metal vocalist – especially for a Finnish band. I actually think it sounds kind of like a Finnish death metal with some Asian touches, it is the keyboard and atmospheric arrangements that make this band stand out a little bit. Although I would not describe this as a new genre, it is a variation of a theme – they aren’t exactly breaking completely new ground. Their sound is fresh though, decent variation and a playing time just short of the hour is what you get on this quality production.

And it sure is a good album, I think fans of melodic death metal and especially the Finnish version of said genre will find this to be miekka juustohöylää hyvä as the Finnish Samurai would have said. I love the small melodic touches with keys and Japanese folk music and such things that spice up the whole thing, so overall I find this a very good album. There is a but however, and that is the lack of hits as I don’t think the album has a natural focal point. It really should have had something that makes you want to return to the album when you are not listening, now you like the Japanese touches and the songs while listening but none of it is really that memorable. Nevertheless, no matter that little thing, I still think it is an album well worth checking out for those who likes the melodic death metal genre.

I don’t think there is much to the grand claims of epic and inventing new genres and stuff, but while I can think of many things that better defines the epic term I would still describe this as a fairly epic album. And while inventing a new genre entails more than just making a variation on a theme, I still think these guys sound fresh enough to merit interest – all I wish for was that they had some sharper songs wielding more energy as this is more like one of those unsharp samurai swords you buy to display on a shelf somewhere. It has less bite than the artwork suggests but fans of melodic death metal will most certainly find it very exciting and appealing.

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