{"id":16847,"date":"2012-01-26T18:35:39","date_gmt":"2012-01-27T01:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=16847"},"modified":"2014-02-16T09:37:50","modified_gmt":"2014-02-16T14:37:50","slug":"battle-beast-steel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/battle-beast-steel\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle Beast | Steel<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Nikiforos Skoumas<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"And just when you thought major labels no longer invest on newcomer acts, comes Battle Beast. The plainly titled Steel<\/em> is their debut album, issued by Nuclear Blast in an attempt to increase their slice of the pie labeled as New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal.<\/p>\n

Battle Beast are a female-fronted metal group from Finland and though this kind of profile might sound all too familiar, Battle Beast, as mentioned above, sound nothing like the average Scandinavian female fronted band. At the same time, however it is important to note that Steel<\/em> is not quite the stereotypical traditional metal release either. <\/p>\n

The best way one finds to describe their music is a mixture of Lordi and Dream Evil; Battle Beast combine the commercial elements of the former (keyboards, melodic guitar lines, straightforward songwriting) with the attack of the latter (up-front rhythm section, high pitched vocals, and extensive shredding solos). <\/p>\n

Clearly, the protagonist instrument on Steel<\/em> is the guitar and obviously the lead vocals; Nitte Valo is capable of carrying the vocal melodies at the top of her range, yet her vibrato might come out as rather funny, depending on the listener\u2019s taste and orientation. At the same time one can not fail to give credit to the guitar partnership of Anton Kabanen and Jusso Soinio who deliver on every song, making each guitar solo a musical piece at its own right. The rhythm section of Eero Sipila and Pyry Vikki drives the main body of the song though but the performance is nothing out of the ordinary. Also very significant is the contribution of their keyboardist Janne Bjorkroth who dressed the songs with orchestral arrangements which reinforces the depth of the overall composition and performance. <\/p>\n

Moving to the lyrical concept, well, between the cover artwork and the song titles you already have a pretty accurate picture of Battle Beast\u2019s direction; \u201cEnter the Metal World\u201d, \u201cJustice and Metal,\u201d \u201cSteel,\u201d \u201cVictory,\u201d \u201cStay Black\u201d and the single \u201cShow Me How to Die\u201d say just about everything regarding this newcomer band. Yes, Steel<\/em> lies at the heart of Metal clich\u00e9 and can grow a bit tiring after consecutive plays, obviously not due to its technical aspects (the songs are very well arranged after all) but because of the repetition of certain motto’s and words. <\/p>\n

For fans of traditional heavy metal enjoying the current resurgence of the genre, Battle Beast is bound to give them another reason to smile this month. Steel<\/em> is classic sounding heavy metal with no shame but with great production that should probably reach all international metal communities. <\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy, Epic Metal <\/p>\n

Line Up:
\nNitte Valo – Vocals
\nAnton Kabanen – Guitar, Vocals
\nPyry Vikki – Drums
\nJuuso Soinio – Guitar
\nEero Sipila – Bass, Vocals
\nJanne Bjorkroth – Keyboards, Vocals<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n01. Enter The Metal World
\n02. Armageddon Clan
\n03. The Band Of The Hawk
\n04. Justice And Metal
\n05. Steel
\n06. Die-Hard Warrior
\n07. Cyberspace
\n08. Show Me How To Die
\n09. Savage And Saint
\n10. Iron Hand
\n11. Victory<\/p>\n

Band Website: http:\/\/www.hypeproductions.fi\/battlebeast\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Label: Nuclear Blast<\/p>\n

Hardrock haven rating: 7.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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