(c) Pete Inkinen / Guilty Visuals
After the strong first album “Dead Reckoning” it is by no means presumptuous Oceanhoarse to be described as heavy metal beacons of hope. The Finnish quartet perfectly knows how to combine old and new school, combining classic metal with modern ideas that sometimes squint in the direction of thrash and core. The band now wants to deepen exactly those ideas and expand the sound a bit without moving away from the roots. In addition, the sound should correspond to the live experience. All of this works „Heads Will Roll“ wonderful.
Non-stop hits and anthems take no prisoners. So “Smoke Signals” starts out really puke, surprises with a groove and finally gets clear vocals with dramatic undertones. The pithy and yet outrageously catchy chorus is catchy, all around the bridge to Machine Head is built. In the title song “Heads Will Roll” Oceanhoarse occasionally increase the tempo to remarkable heights, go to the max and try the biting, rough core sprint. This is also an intensification of the events compared to the predecessor, but it works perfectly – especially in connection with the melodic resolution in between.
“Nails” experiments with semi-balladesque sounds, couples thoughtfulness with heaviness and quotes the great melodic metal bands of recent years – cheesy and yet with substance. In the opening “Fall Like Dominoes” Oceanhoarse have to work their way up to the song and sound like Alter Bridge if they were dedicated to the classic metal school. “Pryopen” increases the number of hits significantly and once once more underlines that Joonas Kosonen has a fantastic voice. The sheer intensity of these four minutes of hinted Metalcore up to the empathetic radio melody puts you in a good mood.
In fact, the Finns have taken the proverbial next step with their second album, which should have been anything but difficult. “Heads Will Roll” offers strong ideas in abundance, tough neckbeats and fine hymns in chords, and also develops an exciting signature of its own. Of course, memories of some sizes are awakened, but that shouldn’t be a mistake. At the moment you are somewhere with Trivium musically when they wanted to do without screams, and that’s really not the worst comparison. Oceanhoarse have what it takes to make a big breakthrough and write songs that you can’t get out of your head.
Rating: 8/10
Available from: 02/17/2023
Available from: Noble Demon (Soulfood Music)
Website: oceanhoarse.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/oceanhoarse
Slider-Pic (c) Pete Inkinen / Guilty Visuals
Category: Magazin, Reviews