Leverage

Even since their first record (Tides) in 2006 I’ve loved this band. Leverage represents all the good in a great melodic metal band; great hooks, fantastic musicianship, nice production and a superb singer. Finland have produced many great bands in the same category the last 5-6 years, but it all started with Nightwish long ago. Not one of them are as good as Leverage though, not even Nightwish (sorry Nettan).

This record has more “theatric” sound, more choirs and more orchestration than the first 2 records. It starts of with a very nice 2 minute-intro and it’s followed by the really heavy and mindblowing Wolf And The Moon, one of the top songs on the record for me. Movie Gods has a real simple guitarwork, more or less a standard heavy metal-riff, but I like the chorus very much.
I jump Worldbeater, as this is one of the few fillers on here, and goes straight to Riders Of The Storm, which is a superb track. As is Revelation, my favourite song of the record, a keyboard-driven track with a slice of both Journey and traditional hard rock.
There’s one ballad on the record, Don’t Keep Me Waiting, but this is nothing special really, not comparable to the others they’ve written in the past. Broken Wings ends the record, and this one smokes, superb song. Heavy as hell but equally melodic.

If You like Brother Firetribe and Nightwish, or just melodic metal, this one is for You

Info:
Label: Spinefarm (SPI357CD)
Producer: Tuomas Heikkinen, Torsti Spoof
Release date: November 4th 2009
Line-up: Pekka Heino (vocals), Tuomas Heikkinen (guitars), Torsti Spoof (guitars), Marko Niskala (keyboards), Pekka Lampinen (bass), Valteri Revenkorpi (drums)

Rating: 8/10

Leverage - Circus Colossus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There's no denying the emotional intent of instrumental opener 'Rise'.
It's powerfully neo classical, with all the sweet cinematic attraction of a seasonal soundtrack. Released in November, it shows perfect timing.
From there, a seamless segue takes us into big production number 'The Wolf And The Moon' and we're off and running with the Finnish metallers' third release.

The band's first two albums, 'Tides' and 'Blind Fire', blended classic rock with contemporary neo classical and power metal elements, gaining them a legion of fans in the process.
'Circus.' is less immediate and undeniably heavier. Vocalist Heino's affinity for the sound of eighties' melodic rock giants like Night Ranger and Van Halen is now less to the fore, subsumed by Spoof's and Hekkinen's marginally harder and heavier influences.
Though arguably, it's more of a consolidation than a colossus . . . if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

What these guys do so well is pump up the production values and trowel on the bombast, framing the songs - and some great melodies - in epic, widescreen soundscapes, with the occasional handful of proggy grit thrown into the mix.

Consummate musicianship coupled with imagination and flair in the studio will carry you a long way. Combine that with great songwriting and you get noticed.
Great example is the exultant arena rock of 'Movie Gods'. Just on this one track, the music morphs gracefully through a quick change parade of styles, from melodic rock to melodic metal to progrock and back again.
'Worldbeater' and 'Rider Of Storms' weld Jorn like power metal to steely, Wasp like hard rock, with climactic keyboards moving purposefully over thundering guitars, racing to hooky crescendos.
The dramatic, rushing, single release, 'Legions Of The Invisible' distills the band's sound - a tight knit dynamic and an urgent, driving beat propels a gloriously uplifting, multi layered melody. As immediate and accessible as it gets.

Compared to vocalist Pekka Heino's "other" band, Brother Firetribe, the music of Leverage is a darker, heavier beast, but with 'Circus Colossus', as with the previous 2 releases, the shadows are illuminated by lightning bolts of brilliance.

Written by Brian
Thursday, January 14, 2010

Ratings
Brian: 8/10

Genre: crossover (industrial crossover / J-rock / prog / rock / metal / punk / grind)