Oceanhoarse
Heads Will Roll
Noble Demon
For some reason Finnish metal doesn’t seem to have the same kudos as its Scandinavian neighbours, but that’s all about to change with Oceanhoarse’s sophomore album, Heads Will Roll. Unashamedly heavy metal, this Helsinki quartet wear their influences on their collective sleeve and deliver a sound that’s characterised by squealing riffs and a punchy rhythm section that’s topped with Joonas Kosonen’s wonderfully throaty rasp. In short, it’s everything that makes the genre so great, and it’s hard not to get swept along with the band’s enthusiasm as they blast their way through 11 choice cuts. However, there’s plenty of variety on offer with ‘Help Is On The Way’ being a fine thrasher, ‘Dead Zone’ an ethereal instrumental, and the title track a wrecking ball come to demolish your speakers. While it’s perfectly feasible to dip in and out of this album, Heads Will Roll is best consumed in one sitting to fully appreciate its ebb and flow and peaks and troughs. Continuing the good work of 2021 debut studio album Dead Reckoning, the band’s follow up finds them planting their flag firmly on metal’s global map and its obvious they won’t be leaving any time soon.
Review by Peter Dennis