The mastermind behind Finland’s PLAN E is Jani Lehtosaari, who is known for his collaborations with IMPALED NAZARENE, among others. Don’t be fooled, though, as PLAN E sounds nothing like IMPALED NAZARENE, or any other Metal you’ve ever heard. No, it’s not that this is some new and original and innovative type of Metal…it’s that it isn’t Metal at all. It’s not really Avantgarde either – I classified it as such because that’s what the press-sheet says it is, but I don’t see how anyone would call this Avantgarde unless they’ve never heard of Synth Pop before.

And that’s exactly what “Best Kept Secret” is: Synth Pop. It’s dark, jazzy, loungy Synth Pop with lots of keyboards, atmospherics, samples and three guys playing bass. At times it sounds almost like NINE INCH NAILS, though it never really gets anywhere near even that heavy. Maybe it would be best to describe the sound here as a weird mix of NINE INCH NAILS with RADIOHEAD’s more experimental (re: techno) moments, with a singer totally different from either band. Jari Lehtosaari’s vocals have a smooth and deep delivery, floating somewhere above the music and casting a dark and sinister shadow onto the otherwise potentially happy-sounding tunes. He’s got a nice voice which definitely adds a nice touch, making PLAN E an entity of its own.

DO NOT go into this expecting Metal as you will inevitably be disappointed. This album is being promoted as for fans of Nick Cave and JOY DIVISION. Keep that in mind before heading in to this one, or else you might be sorely surprised. If you keep that in mind and what I’ve written above sounds interesting, you might find PLAN E a refreshing change. (Online September 5, 2005)