Fire Within

If there is a band out there who truly doesn’t get their due for the incredibly ballsy and hard edged metal they put out, it’s Finnish gothic rock/metal outfit Lullacry. Picture a Lacuna Coil but 5 times as heavy and you’d have the right idea. Ever since they took on vocalist Tanja Lainio they’ve been on a steady upsurge from being ballsy to being downright wicked. “Fire Within” lives up to its name and delivers 5 songs curled up into a melancholy yet aggressive fist.

The title track is one of a formidable collection of hard edged rockers that populate the band’s 4th LP “Vol. 4”. It continues the progression of musical ambition that began on “Be My God” and presents a simple, formulaic up tempo rock song with a slight punk tinge, and some added guitar effects to make the transitions a bit more interesting. Tanja’s vocals go back and forth between a sleazy sounding Cyndi Lauper-like wail to the occasional rougher edged Joan Jett inspired shout.

I never thought I’d see the day where a female fronted band would even attempt to cover a W.A.S.P. song, let alone actually pull it off as well as they do with “L.O.V.E. Machine”. The vocals are naturally a bit of a departure from Blackie’s raunchy style, but Tanja proves to be up to the task of presenting the female version of the cock-rocket madman. I’m at a loss to say whether the cover or the title track rocks harder; better just listen to them both and get your ass kicked twice as hard.

The acoustic version of “Be my God” is also surprisingly intricate and radically different sounding from the original, especially during the verses where the acoustic line almost sounds like a Viking folk metal song. The melancholy nature of the lyrics are actually more suited to this acoustic medium, but work very well in the rock/metal style as well. “Rebel #1” is basically a typical example of a Lullacry rocker, but with acoustic guitars and an organ.

The piano version of “Crucify my heart” is an absolute tear-jerker, more so than any ballad or ballad-like composition this outfit has put out. The atmosphere created between the piano and keyboards is fairly dense, but backed off enough to leave Tanja’s voice completely exposed, every flaw that would be on display but isn’t because there actually are none. Someone once said that music can break your heart if you let it, but this song will do it to you regardless to whether you allow it or not.

As far as EPs go, it doesn’t really get any better than this, even if you already own all of the LPs put out by this band. If you like Lacuna Coil, Sirenia and Within Temptation but are not happy with the direction they’ve all taken in recent times, Lullacry is a good alternative to consider and a stalwart outfit in terms of stylistic consistency. In 6 years they have not changed their sound in a significant way, but they have improved it little by little with each new effort, something that every band ought to reach for.