Following the success of Iron Griffin’s self-titled debut EP, Finnish multi-instrumentalist Oskari Räsänen returns with another strong release of classic sounding hard rock and heavy metal music. The songs on this new album, “Curse of the Sky,” shall open up gateways into a magnificent realm of epic sounding music where warriors fend off attacks from ravenous beasts.
On the new album, Räsänen decided to seek out the talents of Maija Tiljander, who proves to be a phenomenal vocalist with an unbelievable range. Her ability to bring such emphasis to the fantasy based lyrical content makes each song very memorable and complements the instrumental compositions extremely well. I was a huge fan of the first EP and thought that the singer who handled the vocal parts on that album did a great job, however, the decision to change vocalists was a brilliant idea. Tiljander and Räsänen prove to be a solid team and the album’s overall production is simply amazing.
The album opens with an acoustic instrumental composition with faint noises of thunder in the background to buildup anticipation for the song, “Reign of Thunder.” You feel as though you are being bombarded with thunderous explosions of guitar distortion, while the vocals provided by Tiljander confidently scream over the bombastic sounding noise. The next song, “Forgotten Steel,” maintains a triumphant attitude with medieval themed lyrics creating a world of fantasy and glorious sounding classic metal music. The vintage sound of the guitars and the fantasy themed lyrical content reminds me of bands like Cirith Ungol and Manilla Road.
Track number four, “Lost Legion,” begins with a soothing introduction section that unfolds into a fierce battle like piece of valiant metal might. I find the dynamic songwriting abilities of Räsänen to really standout on this song and I like how he crafts such vivid melodic compositions that match the emotional tone of Tiljander’s voice. The songs, “Curse of the Sky” and “Dawn of Struggle,” both gallop away in a feverish fashion containing some truly blistering rhythms and verse sections. I personally like the raw attitude that, “Dawn Struggle,” seemed to convey in terms of the vocal delivery and the main guitar riff. The final song on the album, “To the Path of the Glory,” is quite possibly the most powerful and captivating song off of the album. Once again, listeners are treated to a piece of uplifting metal music to conclude a journey of epic and triumphant proportions.
“Curse of the Sky,” was a very refreshing and overall enjoyable listening experience compared to a lot of your typical overproduced heavy metal releases where there seems to be a lack of true raw emotion. From start to finish, Iron Griffin embodies what making great rock and metal music is all about, which is putting passion into each song you write and not settling for subpar. Iron Griffin’s music reminds us that the power and glory of hard rock and heavy metal music does not die like most other modern styles of music, or fade in time. I highly recommend this album for fans of classic hard rock and heavy metal along with anyone looking for an escape into world of sheer heavy metal fantasy.
Iron Griffin's Bandcamp:
https://irongriffin.bandcamp.com/album/curse-of-the-sky
Iron Griffin's Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/irongriffinmetal/
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