Artist: Leverage
Label: Frontiers Records
Released: 2008
Rating: 4/5
Leverage! The Finns! They stick to their tried-and-true template, which is damn hard to pin down. Roughly speaking, you’d call it symphonic hard rock. But with the occasional eruption of double bass drum pedals, the scales like to tip in favor of “metalness,” and other times a rhythm break sneaks in out of nowhere, mostly in the middle sections of songs. It’s very rare, but with these tricks too Leverage prove they can get progressive (e.g. the middle sections of King Of The Night and Hellhorn). They don’t go so far that you’d call them “progressive” hard rock, though.
The cherry on top, the crown jewel of Leverage, is the outstanding voice of Pekka Heino. An ideal hard rock vocalist. For any kind of hard rock, AOR and everything in between. Powerful, clean, expressive in every register, with an incredible knack for shifting through all kinds of moods (in the excellent closing power ballad Learn To Live, the big chorus can get unbelievably heartfelt, warm and sophisticated). Interestingly, the style these guys cultivate burns brightest in the mid-tempo tracks. The riffs, in a hungry, snarling production, are pushed way up front and keep everything alive, the background is filled with symphonic keyboards, the bass has a heavy foot, and the drums have a proper cannon sound and a witty variability that’s perfectly dosed into the basic, template-style predictability. It keeps Leverage from letting things slip through their fingers by accident and creates an ideal sonic balance.
Shadow in the Rain is, interestingly, the least successful song on the album. Of course they shoved the fastest track of the album right at the start. One, two, three, four and floor it. King of the Night, which follows, already has a much more interesting main riff and, as a song, a bigger dose of chorus epicness. The third track, Stormchild, is downright perfect for showing off all of this band’s songwriting and performance qualities together in the studio, when it’s time to catch them on tape. It’s a mid-tempo track with a progressive riff, the background is filled with keyboard sounds that bring the drama, and the peak is the bombastic chorus itself, which is simple, but with its ultra melody and beefy production it sends shivers down your spine like it’s nothing.
On “Blind Fire” Leverage have kept that fine knack for building compact songs with elaborate pre-choruses and a gradual build of dramatic atmosphere toward the choruses, where the tracks explode into peaks (Mister Universe, in its melodic perfection, is practically a synonym for the word “flawless”).
The soloing of the Heikkinen/Spoof duo is superior. Cohesive, polished and well-crafted, it sits right inside the compositions. Malmsteen, watch your back! And where there’s Malmsteen there’s classical, and far from it is (well, how about that!) Richie Blackmore too (though in extremely low doses). Hellhorn is the point on the album where Leverage fishily pull toward the mighty Rainbow, while adding attributes that you could just as well pin on Masterplan in the Jorn Lande days (production, keyboards). Speaking of Lande, it’s worth mentioning that Heino is completely on par qualitatively. In the Hellhorn pre-chorus you can even hear Gillan in the vocals (on an ultra-dose of stimulants, of course). Hellhorn is the peak of the album, though it’s actually hard to find a peak at all, since the songs stand so evenly side by side.
In the second half of the album there’s a bit more room for drama. Don’t Touch the Sun is yet another hard-hitting ballad, with an oriental touch in the keyboards! Perfection in modern clothing, yet with a simultaneous touch of the legacy of Whitesnake (vocal lines) and Rainbow (keyboards, beat, riffs, the first solo). Run Down the Hell is the second and last all-out assault on the album (besides the opener). Its middle section is completely “Malmsteenian,” with an outstanding conversation between the two guitarists, captured through supersonic-fast (yet filigree-precise) bursts of notes.
The album is wrapped up by two slower songs that once again shine in melodic perfection. The darker Heart Of Darkness has an intro that fishily reminds you of the Deep Purple tune Soldiers Of Fortune, but that’s all there is to it, since Leverage then show up again in their own true light. It’s followed by the solemn closer Learn To Live, which rounds off this fascinating album.
Leverage aren’t typical Finns, except that they bet everything they’ve got on melody. They don’t know the thin Stratovarius “filter” production and they don’t bug you with synthetic keyboard solos. They’re modern-day hard rockers with serious oomph. But they’re still Scandinavians. And when it comes to new bands, Scandinavians are the strongest in hard rock on the planet today, given what the region keeps producing these days. Stuff’s happening up there. And with Scandinavians there’s no room for sloppy filler. Everything is usually done down to the last detail, pitch perfect. Leverage will also be loved by everyone who appreciates the rapid development of progressive metal out of Scandinavia (bands like Platitude, Darkwater, Circus Maximus, Seventh Wonder, or even the slightly more complex Mind’s Eye), as well as by those into the lush flourishing of “symphonic” hard rock (Allen/Lande, Starbreaker, Codex, Work Of Art, The Poodles, Brother Firetribe). “Blind Fire” is a masterclass in melodic perfection. For everyone looking for the ideal balance of punch, dramatic atmosphere and melodiousness, with a whiff of complex prog metal inspiration! Run to the store and grab “Blind Fire,” no excuses!
When these hot Finns released their excellent debut “Tides” (2006) the year before last, expectations instantly shot sky-high for what their story would look like from there. Not even a year and a half has gone by and the guys are already bringing us the follow-up. They really are fast. And yet, did “Blind Fire” match the level of the debut?
Yes. It’s completely on par when it comes to quality (sound and ideas). So this time too the harvest is full of oomph, imagination and wit! “Blind Fire” confirmed what the guys showed with their debut. This is a quintet of outstanding musicians who, besides filigree school-trained drilling, of course have what’s most sought after in music. Their compositions are truly their own. And what saves everything is style and inspiration, which Leverage have no shortage of. Not important, but still: music this good deserves a much better cover.
Lineup
Pekka Heino – vocals
Tuomas Heikkinen – guitar
Torsti Spoof – guitar
Marko Niskala – keyboards
Pekka Lampinen – bass guitar
Valtteri Revonkorpi – drums
Production
Torsti Spoof, Tuomas Heikkinen & Jari Mikkola
Tracklist
1.Shadow In The Rain
2.King Of The Night
3.Stormchild
4.Sentenced
5.Hellhorn
6.Mr. Universe
7.Don’t Touch The Sun
8.Run Down
9.Heart Of Darkness
10.Learn To Live
Album length: 53.00
Album rating: 9/10
