Year : 2019
Style : Melodic Heavy Metal
Country : Finland
Audio : 320kbps + front
Size : 71 mb
Bio:
Blackstar Halo (formerly known as Downfall) is a melodic metal band from Tampere, Finland. It’s been always clear to the band that instead of focusing on showing off with their musical talent, Blackstar Halo is all about creating songs with movie-like atmospheres, tight rhythm sections and indelible choruses. Interestingly, but not denying their Finnish influences, Blackstar Halo aims to sound as Swedish as possible with a hint of American megalomania. As Ville Hovi (lead singer) describes BSH’s music: “Our music is extremely well polished and well produced entertainment. That is probably our greatest strength along with the strong melodies.” BSH was originally formed by Kalle Tulonen and Timo Eskelinen back in 1998. The band as it was at the time was called Downfall and consisted of Kalle, Timo, Jani Peippo and Hannu Kumpula. After some years of playing and partying, as Kalle and Timo finished school, a promo EP was recorded. Soon after (2000) as Dimitry Martynoff joined, the band got a record deal and released the EP “Dark Parade” and started recording their first full length album “My Last Prayer”. The album was released 2002-2004 through various licensing deals in Finland, Germany, Russia, Baltic countries, Canada, USA and Japan.After various line up changes and after resigning the record deal with Low Frequency Records the band recorded their second promo EP “Downfall” with Dino Kullberg on the drums and Ville Hovi on vocals. With a fresh line up the band set sails and headed out on tour reaching Russia and Finland. The EP was well received, but did not lead to a new record deal.On the summer of 2007 the band started to record their second full-length album funding it from their own pockets. Recordings were finished late 2008. 2008 December – 2009 February mixing and production was done in Sweden by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Soilwork, Paradise Lost, God Forbid, etc..On the summer of 2009 the band signed a record deal with “Artist Anonymous” and changed its name from Downfall to Blackstar Halo after realizing how many bands there were appearing to the scene with the same name. The new album “Illuminated” was released in Finland February 2010, rest of the world coming, stay tuned.
Album:
Gothenburg style guitar leads atop crunching slabs of alt. metal riffing, injected with oodles of power metal grandiosity and electronic flourishes representing every decade of the last forty years; it’s a rather niche combination. Luckily for Blackstar Halo, it’s one that’s executed with more than a little pizzazz on their stomping new release, ‘Siren.’ The Finnish metallers’ follow-up to their solid, if not remarkable, debut ‘Illuminated’ is a marked step up in terms of experimentation, while also showcasing a greater assurance in regards to dynamic songwriting. Opener ‘Bleeding Red Door’ deftly marries latter-day In Flames-esque melodious, staccato leads bedrocked by downtuned chugs (don’t say nü metal, anyone) with elevating synths that’s sure to resonate with fans of Within Temptation’s more recent material.It also showcases Ville Hovi’s vocal dexterity early on; the aforementioned track segueing from convincing death growls to a much more traditional power metal style with an impressive deftness, before even chucking in the odd guttural quirk seemingly learned from the school of David Draiman.Elsewhere, lead single ‘The Queen’ finds Blackstar Halo evoking a more industrial vibe with its four to the floor stomp, and just a touch of Wednesday 13 in the vocal delivery during the verses before launching into a particularly bombastic chorus. Conversely, ‘The King’ juxtaposes an energetic modern metal gallop with a refrain that can only be described as being, well, a little bit ABBA. Equally as amusing is the unbridled joy of ‘Downfall’, which for all the world sounds like Hammerfall having some interesting relations with a Sega Megadrive.As delightfully cheesy as they can get, Blackstar Halos know when to bring the heavy, as indicated by the hitherto untapped savagery of the album closer, ‘The Other Side.’ However, the pinnacle arrives in the form of ‘Wolf The Mender’, featuring both the most arresting vocal hook and the most virtuosic lead work courtesy of guitarists Timo Eskelinen and Hannu Kumpula.Although they represent a broad canvas of influences, some that may at first seem rather incongruous when merged together, Blackstar Halo has delivered a victorious sophomore release that positively revels in the scope of its extremities.
Line-Up:
Ville Hovi (Vocals)
Hannu Kumpula (Guitar)
Timo Eskelinen (Guitar)
Dino Kullberg (Drums)
Henri Rantanen (Bass)
Tracklist:
01. Bleeding Red Door
02. The Queen
03. Remedy
04. The King
05. Wolf The Mender
06. Downfall
07. Intruder
08. Perdition's Air
09. Less Than You
10. The Other Side
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
