Most of the bands from Finland that makes it out on the market and are a few records into the career normally sound very good. So does THUNDERSTONE, "Dirt Metal" is a really decent album and it should be. The band consists of a whole bunch of famous musicians with past in KOTIPELTO, AT VANCE and SANDALINAS to mention a few. For fans of already mentioned bands and YNGWIE, STRATOVARIUS, BLIND GUARDIAN or FATES WARNING even perhaps this record will fit fine in taste. Musically it's more towards late 80's early 90's Heavy Metal, like Power Metal/Neo-Classical sounded before it was completely infested with happy-happy, joy-joy and cheesy lyrics. So "Dirt Metal" should be a nice addition to the collection, shouldn't it? And judging by the effort put in the songs, everything is very worked though, all songs have great melodies and there's a very nice drive through the record. So why isn't it more than a really nice album?

The thing that really bugs me with a lot of today's records is that it's hard to believe it's real. The sound is very compressed and for this one, the guitars sound and feel exactly the same, no matter if is a fast song, mid tempo or a very soft one. When it's like that, the guitars are perfect, there's not a weak hit on the drums it's very hard to believe it's real. Guitars sound different depending on the way you play and for me it's more fun to listen to something that feels alive rather than something perfect. I don't doubt for a second that THUNDERSTONE sounds awesome live, and they probably will be more breathing then as well. There are some real highlights on the record, "At The Feet Of Fools" is a very heavy and melancholic piece, great melody with a huge choir arrangement in the chorus line. The closer of the album, "Suffering Song" is a complex piece, over 8 minutes long but not boring for a second. Then also the title track, "Dirt Metal" is a catchy Metal Tune, easy to sing a long to and should absolutely work fine live. So yes, this release from THUNDERSTONE is a nice album but it lacks personality but I would absolutely recommend anyone into the style to get their own opinion, it's absolutely worth a few spins.