AGONIZER – Visions Of The Blind (2016)
At first impression I was pretty pushed back by this record; the band’s name and the odd artwork made me think of brutal metal. But never judge an album by its cover… Finland’s AGONIZER is an experienced and really strong act delivering a solid dose of classic melodic metal in their new CD “Visions Of The Blind“.
Yeah, Agonizer play metal, but the kind rich in melody and harmony, firmly planted in the traditional sound of the genre coming from Europe.
There’s a couple of songs influenced by the NWOBHM, but mostly “Visions Of The Blind” sounds like Pretty Maids, 220 Volt, Demon… You get the picture: strong riffs, lots of melody and quite emotive vocals.
But Agonizer goes further adding a personal, and at places, even poppy / melodic hard rock elements like in the excellent track ‘Sliced’.
Apart from the very good and varied songwriting, one of the ace of spades in this band is great singer Pasi Kärkkäinen. His slightly rough vocals seems perfectly designed for a Hard Rock band, and his groove provides a special touch to these songs. Indeed a quite unique vocalist for a (melodic) metal band.
As said, Agonizer push the pedal a couple of times, but not too much, because all songs are based on groove and melody.
‘Eye Of The Storm’ has speedy verses, but the catchy chorus is pure ’80s Euro melodic metal / hard rock, ‘Trail’ has some Jorn in it, while ‘Trooper’ is some kind of homage to Iron Maiden.
However, half of the tracks are mid-tempo taking as focus the melody, such as ‘Thorns Of Roses’, the groovy ‘A Lie’, or the epic closer ‘Nothing Changed’. They even do a cover of Richard Marx’s classic ‘Hazard’, and works nice.
One of my favorites is the awesome ballad ‘Haze’ featuring just acoustic guitar and really original vocal arrangements / layers panned in stereo. This track alone worth the disc.
Do not be afraid by Agonizer’s name or their new album “Visions Of The Blind” cover artwork: if you like polished, clean and really melodic classic metal in the Euro vein, this is a must.
In fact this album is as well a pure delight for traditional Hard Rock fans as here’s a lot of nods to the biggest names of the genre, especially its ’80s period.
Agonizer has various influences but they have crafted a very unique style, in grand part due the excellent vocals but also an updated sonic treatment including a modern guitar set-up and keyboards / synths embellishing the whole thing.
A really welcomed surprise. Two thumbs up.
01 – All Alone
02 – Devil
03 – Pieces
04 – Haze
05 – Sliced
06 – Eye Of The Storm
07 – Trail
08 – Hazard
09 – Lullacry
10 – Thorns Of Roses
11 – A Lie
12 – Trooper
13 – Nothing Changed
Pasi Kärkkäinen: Vocals
Jussi Tikka: Bass, backing vocals
Jari-Pekka Perälä: Guitars, backing vocals
Atte Palokangas: Drums
BUY IT!
www.recordshopx.com/artist/agonizer/visions_of_the_blind/
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