Lyijy

So 2013 brings us Lyijy, and the no-longer-so-big question on the lips of anyone who’s actually cared enough to stick around is ”Has Ville finally released the long-awaited follow-up to The Funeral Album that we’re all waiting for?” It's what a swathe of not-quite-satiated Sentenced fans has been at first eagerly (then slightly disheartedly, then hopelessly) asking since A Dead Heavy Day came out back in 2008, and each time Poisonblack has answered with much the same, ultimately disappointing “no, but we’re trying!” Each album comes irritatingly close to that latter-day Sentenced brilliance, and indeed seems to aim for it, but always falls just short. Laihiala’s influence on some later Sentenced classics (“Ever-frost” and “Bleed in my Arms” come instantly to mind) is undeniable; he wrote a solid slab of Sentenced's post-Frozen hits – the talent is clearly there… so, has he broken through this time?

Well, as usual, the answer is an irritated “once again, not quite.” But while the noise-to-signal ratio is much the same as on Drive and Of Rust and Bones (about 60:40), the signal at least is now considerably clearer.

May as well start with the noise: in this context, we’re talking about songs that range from terrible to inoffensive – at the oh-god-make-it-stop end of the spectrum we have “Flavour of the Month” and “Death by the Blues”, songs with forced heaviness in riffs, solos that are so creatively empty and lyrics so cringeworthy you’ll be amazed an established artist puts his name to them. The lyrics to “Pull the Trigger” are possibly the worst of Ville’s career, and if you’ve read the lyrics to “Diane” or “Piston Head”, you know how hefty that call is.

Then on the Reload/Funeral Album-imitation end we have the likes of “Them Walls” and the album’s closer, “Elaman Kevat”, which just go nowhere. They’re the kind of songs that make time go slower; you can’t fault them for being bad, and the closer has a few catchy moments, but they’re utterly, utterly forgettable. When the last four songs on an album are all of this variety, it makes the thing drag. Because while so intended, “Death by the Blues” is no “Vengeance is Mine”, nor is “Eleman Kevat” 2013’s “End of the Road”. By minute 50 you’ll be so fed up you’ll never bother with it again… but that’d be a mistake!

And it’d be a mistake because despite its shortcomings, Lyijy is probably Ville’s best post-Sentenced effort yet. It comes mostly in the form of three songs: “Down the Ashes Rain”, “The Absentee”, and “The Halfway Bar”. What these songs all have in common is that they’re more melodic, brooding numbers than angry – where “Flavour of the Month” and “Death by the Blues” are bad modern metal, the slower tracks are more in the gothic metal vein Ville is known for. His strongest points are his ear for melody and ability to write catchy choruses, and these tracks exemplify them. There are exactly zero surprises here – and that really needs to be stressed – but Sentenced fans should be satisfied to an extent: solid, yet well-used chord progressions abound, and Ville’s gravelly vocals complement them well – those choruses are where he shone in Sentenced and he proves here that when needed, he can still deliver. “Down the Ashes Rain” is by far the most well-written, well-executed song on the album, simply because it’s Ville in his comfort zone. If they’d opened the album with it, not only would it dispense with the “first song must be a rocker” mentality, it’d run the chance of listeners staying past one song. “The Absentee” and “The Halfway Bar” (killer chorus!) are in a similar vein, as is “Maybe Life is not for Everyone” – if you can stomach the terrible song title and lyrics.

So essentially, here we have yet another Poisonblack album that leaves us wanting. Ville’s mixing of Sentenced and 90s Metallica has improved since last time, but it nonetheless falls short of its intended goal. The standout tracks are his best yet, but as with so many bands with such a prominent “main” member, there’s a huge amount of fat to be trimmed – had there been quality control, Lyijy would be a seriously strong EP, and not a weak album that has already been largely forgotten, barely a year after its release.

Ok, before I get to the part where I rant about what I love about this album I'm going to start with the gripes, or gripe as there's really only one. About half of the songs on this album (and its predecessor) bear a striking resemblance to the load-era Metallica albums. Although I love Metallica my respect for their musicianship "faded to black" after the black album. The faster more aggressive tracks on Lyijy sound like the "best of" songs that never made it onto load or reload. To clarify I think that songs such as "Blackholehead" and "home is where the sty is" sounds much like Metallica tried to sound like on those albums. To be honest I would probably like these songs much better had I never been subjected to Metallica's mid-90's "load of crap" phase.

I began listening to Poisonblack due to my love of sentenced. I was at first unsatisfied with their first album, Escapexstasy, due to my hopes that Ville would be taking the helm on vocals and I could expect a new rebuilt sentenced chapter. After their debut album I got my wish...sort of. While Ville did indeed reclaim the throne as lead vocals the product was still not quite Sentenced. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. I find the quality of Poisonblack's work (excluding "A Dead Heavy Day, we shall not speak of this album) to be a welcome progression from Sentenced. It seems that every album since "Lust-Stained Despair" has grown ever so much (again disregard the existence of "A Dead Heavy Day") and their sixth installment "Lyijy" is no exception. The song-writing is very consistent with that of their precious album "Drive". In fact it could have been released as a two-disk album with "Lyijy" without seeming out of place. Both albums have two unfortunate things in common: the aforementioned Metallica worship, and the fact that the opening tracks (Home is Where the Sty Is on Lyijy and Piston Head on Drive) gave no justice to what was to follow. Home is Where the Sty Is was the first (so far only) single with a video and the albums first track, giving new listeners a good excuse to never buy, or never finish, the album. Immediately after comes my favorite song on the album, "Down the Ashes Rain". This song completely eliminates the bad taste the first track leaves you with. Bearing a striking resemblance to something Sentenced would have released on "A Cold White Light". With epic guitar sound and the dark lyrics you'd come to expect from their previous work this song could easily become a favorite for fans of Sentenced or Poisonblack. The album keeps this atmosphere throughout the album with aggressive and melancholy songs throughout with the likes of my personal favorites Them Walls, Pull the Trigger, and Maybe Life is not for Everyone. There are scattered throughout those Metallica-esque tracks that I personally don't approve of but they are well executed and well written and I think the only reason I have a problem with them at all is due to my grudge with Metallica for abandoning their thrash roots. A prime example is the song "Flavor of the Month". This track resembles the Re-Load album on almost every level...but it's a great song, something I've never said about anything from Re-Load.

So you must be wondering why I'm recommending this album with the negative things I've said. The answer is simple, it's simply excellent. Sentenced and Poisonblack have always shared some characteristics of mid-career Metallica but that's never stopped my from thoroughly enjoying every release. This album sounds like the product of a serious group of musicians that took their time perfecting each song, rather than the sound of the drunken ramblings of a guy who forgot he was supposed to have an album out next week (a Dead Heavy Day). I recommend this album to any fan of Sentenced or Poisonblack. If you liked their previous two efforts ("Drive" and "Of Rust and Bones") Lyijy is sure to earn a spot in your car stereo for the next three months.