Finland’s ability to churn out high quality metal bands is well-known, and Frontiers look to be getting in on the act by signing newcomers UNÉN. The band member names are likely to be unknown to readers outside of Finland, but there is some national-level experience in the band. For example, vocalist Stina Girs reached the finals of the Finnish Idols contest in 2010 and on the back of that released two solo albums. Guitarist Kimmo Pitkänen has also recorded with My Haven and other Finnish bands. As such, UNÉN are far from wet behind the ear amateurs and it’s not a surprise that Forever Winter is a solid and mature set of melodic metal songs.
The cinematic sweep and dramatic spoken word of Prelude For The Wicked is an impressive opening, and even if it’s only two minutes in length it’s a hint of the scale of ambition of the Finns. The first two songs, My Love’s Broken and In My Bones, are typical modern metal pieces, full of crunchy guitar riffs and layered synths. My Love’s Broken mid-paced tempo leans towards the sort of epic sound that you might hear in Nightwish or Epica. Girs’ vocal consists of long drawn-out phrases, which continue throughout the song – there are no instrumental breaks whatsoever which is rather unusual. In My Bones is slightly faster and simpler in its construction and melody, perhaps closer to Ad Infinitum. Again, there are no instrumental breaks. This focus on the singer might be understandable if Girs’ voice was powerful and commanding but personally I didn’t find her tone engaging. Her voice has a dreamy detached quality that I could imagine fitting well in a more ambient style but to these ears she not only lacks the operatic and theatrical flourishes that I’d expect to hear in this type of music, but also the basic grit of a metal singer.
The following Black Heart is a different kettle of fish with its unsettling rhythm and expansive guitar-driven work giving it a progressive edge. Here Girs’ vocals are better-fitted, and we do finally get an instrumental break which turns out to be the highlight of the song, especially the acceleration in the keyboard solo which is quite thrilling. Black Heart was released in advance as a promo track and does represent some of the best aspects of the band.
The mood changes again with Forever Winter, a piano-led ballad. This is more suited to Girs’ voice, and you can’t really fault her performance technically. There again, put this material in the hands of a singer like Nicoletta Rosellini and you’d probably end up with a song that builds to an epic and emotionally wrought climax. Instead, Girs just plods along with her usual ethereal tone throughout. The album proceeds with this mix of symphonic, progressive and piano- based pieces. The only exception is Rose, which after a sequence of gloomy mid-paced numbers comes as a breath of fresh air with its Delain-like punchiness. When UNÉN up the energy levels they can be quite impressive.
There’s the well-known saying that an album can feel better that the sum of its parts. With Forever Winter, I sensed the reverse was true. There’s quality in just about every track, and yet all twelve together becomes an overdose of lush vocal-oriented music. A shorter album with more concise tracks would have created a different impression in my mind. There again, if slow-paced atmospheric metal is your cup of tea, then you might well like this album a lot, especially if you can appreciate Girs voice more than myself. In any case, there’s certainly plenty of promise in this debut album and UNÉN are a band to keep an eye on.
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