amymyoung | Leverage: Blind Fire

I’ve been putting off doing this review for a while for the simple reason that I’ve not been able to subjectively listen to the music and formulate an opinion.

Who the hell are Leverage? I hear you thinking. They, my dear readers, are a diamond in the rough. The Finnish quintet released their sophomore album Blind Fire early this year, following up on 2006′s Tides. Composed of Pekka Ansio Heino on vocals, Tuomas Heikkinen and Torsti Spoof on guitars, Marko Niskala on keyboards, Pekka Lampinen on bass and Valtteri Revonkorpi on drums, the band brings classic hard rock with an edge on their latest release on Frontiers.

All songwriting was done by Tuomas Heikkien, with the exceptions of Heart of Darkness and Learn to Live which spotlight Torsti Spoof as an able songwriter.

Shadow in the Rain – Opens the disc with a slightly heavy, plodding song. The chorus is catchy, but it honestly feels like they’re trying to get all their licks in one on top of the other in this almost six minute song. It’s not bad, but it suffers from over-ambition. Boys, there are other songs on the album.

King of the Night – Faintly Dio-esque without the oversized egotism. The music almost drowns out the wonderful vocals of Pekka Heino in this, and it’s a crying shame, as he’s the strong point in the entire thing.

Stormchild - If you’ve managed to make it to this song and not given up, you’re about to be rewarded. Stormchild creeps softly in then roars to life. Larger than life and twice as bold, this begs for a kick-ass music video. The chorus fuses the band’s ability to harmonize and strong guitar licks together seamlessly. You can view a live video of this song here on YouTube, on Leverage’s official feed.

Sentenced - Sentenced follows up wonderfully from Stormchild. Calling to mind images of battles, loss, pain and suffering. Why couldn’t you just turn and walk away, she whispered tears in her eyes and I didn’t lie, I didn’t fight, Didn’t try to run away, Just raised my hands and dropped the gun, are the most evocative phrases in the song. The guitar solo is played beautifully by Tuomas Heikkien – a study in technique and emotion being fused together.

Hellhorn - I’ll be honest and say this one took me by surprise. When I first heard it, it was one of those songs that got the “NEXT!” treatment. This one could just have walked out of the Eighties in a DeLorean and plunked itself down in the living room. The chorus borders on hypnotic and by this point the guitar pissing contest seems to have resolved itself amicably.

Mister Universe – Opening with the repetition of Do you like what you see? (Yes, very much) Mister Universe is one of those songs that I’ve always called speeding ticket fodder. This one has ended up on high rotation on my daily travels to and from my current employment.

Don’t Touch The Sun – An emotional slow rock song, dealing with past loves lost. Listening to Pekka hit the high notes on the chorus left me in awe and wondering why the sweet monkey bouncing heck we don’t see this type of talent on this side of the pond.

Run Down the Hill – On every album there has to be a song that just leaves the listener (and reviewer) cold. This is one of them. It’s stock rock album filler, and one of those songs that has to be offered as “album only” on services like iTunes to force people to download it. Strange keyboard arrangements, and attempts at power metal drumming just don’t sit well with the rest of the album.

Heart of Darkness – After the mediocre Run Down the Hill, Heart of Darkness is a welcome return to the same style as Stormchild and Mister Universe – a rock song that will keep you tapping your toes along with the song, which you can see here live, again on their official YouTube feed.

Learn to Live – A song to a younger generation, it ends the disc on a wistful tone.
Verdict: Middle of the road musically, the disc weathers repeat listening, and with the right management and marketing behind them, Leverage could easily take the North American rock market. With Pekka Ansio Henio’s vocals and some fine tuning to their production, they are poised for future success.

You can find out more about Leverage at their official website.