Artist: Crystalic
Title: Persistence
Type: Album
Label: Self Released

The first 30 seconds of "Sub-Creatures" and the inoffensive album cover almost lead me to believe that this Finnish quintet would be playing mellow folky metal, however come the 31st second and Timo Hanhijoki's drums kick in at a tremendous rate with a twin guitar sound from Toni Tieaho and Mikko Mattila churning out ultra fast riffs with interwoven melodies and intricate leads. Lasse Heinonen's scream on "Throne of Sin" is a deep throaty roar, while his vocals are a death growl containing a rasp that conveys subtle nastiness in a complete contrast to Lars Eikind's guest clean vocals on the chorus.

Building up and then breaking down the speed on "Wall of Sanity" gives the leads extra room to flow and build an additional layer to the song. Upping the aggression on "Vanishing Act" has Lasse barking out the vocals over Timo's blasted snare drum. Very reminiscent of Dark Tranquillity, the power and melody of the guitars on "Voiceless Army" work really well. "Eulogy" is a slow instrumental and mournfully beautiful to boot and fades well into "Blastbeat of My Heart" with its far livelier upbeat tempo on the choruses and blast beats through the verses. Mellowing out briefly, "New Time" remains slow throughout but certain increases in heaviness, which I think probably helps make it feel even heavier. For the most part Arto Tissari's bass isn't high enough in the mix to make it stand out, but on the outro to "Lord of the Mourn" its chunkiness is felt and clearly audible. "Too Dark to See" opens with a haunting acoustic melody that slowly gets heavier, 'til it's played on electrically with distortion. From there it ebbs and flows into long lead harmonies and breaks, which in some way are more haunting still. Lasse's vocals are full of heartfelt remorse, adding to the sadness conveyed throughout the song and ending off the album on a beautiful note.

http://www.crystalic.net
http://www.myspace.com/crystalicband