|
Ok, grant me one question right at the start: Did anybody leave a door open? There are supergroups emerging like mushrooms after a rain everywhere! FOR MY PAIN… might not ring a bell, but if you look at the participating musicians, this changes very quickly indeed, so here we go: Tuomas Holopainen (NIGHTWISH), Lauri Tuohimaa (EMBRAZE, MAPLE CROSS), Juha Kylmänen (REFLEXION), Altti Veteläinen, Olli-Pekka Törrö and Petri Sankala (all of them formerly with ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW). Well, REFLEXION were new to me, too, but still, quite an assembly of more or less big names, isn't it?
Musically (again leaving REFLEXION out of the equation) FOR MY PAIN… have got nothing to do with neither NIGHTWISH, MAPLE CROSS nor ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW, EMBRAZE, ok, would be the closest to the sound on "Fallen", but at the same time cannot be used as comparison, because they still are too different. But this still does not mean that FOR MY PAIN… are creators of a completely new sound either. Actually the best description for "Fallen" would be: Finnish.
Why Finnish? Well, because FOR MY PAIN… absolutely are in the tradition of bands like HIM, CHARON, ENTWINE, POISONBLACK, SENTENCED etc. ad infinitum. And this all star line-up also lives up to the expectations, that the playing is flawless, no question. Production? I only have to state three names: Kortelainen, Karmila, Jussila. Any questions? I doubted it. The songs? Not only good, but damn good!
I know that this particular sub genre is very crowded and threatens to grow stale, but FOR MY PAIN… are able to elevate the Finnish Gothic Metal to new heights. If you have even only the slightest weak spot for this genre, then the opener "My Wound Is Deeper Than Yours" will already be enough to suck you in - forevermore. The melodies are extremely catchy and infectious, the overall atmosphere is very smooth and dark, with Juha Kylmänen's vocals fitting very, very well and when, as in the following "Dancer In The Dark", RAM-ZET singer Miriam Renvåg joins in for a duet, then all hope is lost and the best thing is to just let go and lose yourself in the songs. Another song I just HAVE to mention still is "Rapture In Lust", which is one of the catchiest songs I have heard in months, this one will stick to your mind for a damn long time!
So do FOR MY PAIN… bring us anynew aspects of the genre? Hardly. Are they able to make their songs something special still? Definitely! I have heard my fair share of Gothic Metal bands from Finland, so I have plenty of bands and albums to compare "Fallen" with and rank among and even though at the beginning I had not thought so, this album definitely ranks among the best of them, just because the songs are so smoothly flowing, melodic, dark and just emotional, so if you like the above mentioned bands, by all chances check FOR MY PAIN… out! (Online August 6, 2003)
|
More Reviews
