2006-02-13
Just when you thought metal couldn’t invent anything new, come Finland's Hevein and create an album that, though it has many similarities to different artists, still manages to create something that's new and refreshing.
To describe the band's music I would have to include the fact that the band's line-up includes a cello and violin players as an integral part of the band, meaning that the two classic instruments are used as a part of the metallic music the band creates.
The band therefore takes its queue from
Apocalyptica, but they also contain the usual metal arsenal of guitars and vocals, with a double vocal delivery courtesy of the band's vocalist and guitarist, they exchange clean and melodic vocals with In Flames' style growled ones. The music moves from thrash-core into death metal, with quite a few Goth metal touches strewn in as well.
The main strength of the compositions lies in the driving guitar riffs and their combination in the classical lines woven by the Cello and Violin playing, it gives the music a certain orchestral quality, but quite different than anything we've heard before.
The clear sound is another evident plus, and most songs have good choruses and lines that manage to stick, making them memorable and catchy.
I can't really pin-point certain tracks as better than others, but "Worth Fighting For", the second track, is a fine example of the band's strengths, as is the emotional "Only Human", that combines aggression and sensitive melodies perfectly.
This release should appeal to quite a large audience, is has its metal moments, from thrash to metal-core, and its Goth moments as well, and it steers clear of many clichés that some similar bands tend to fall into.
Alon Miasnikov
