IAN HIGHHILL has been making music for over thirty years, but I have to admit that I hadn't heard of this Finnish singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer before now. As it says in the EPK that comes with the music, he only started to make music as a solo artist in 2020. Since then he has produced "Man In White" album in 2021 and "Gallows" in 2024. Now he thinks it is time for the world to witness his third attempt, which he has named "A Hymn Among Gravestones". And before I start the review properly, I'll tell you that even though the EPK says that his main influences are BLACK SABBATH and JUDAS PRIEST, you need to add at least DEEP PURPLE to that list. If like me you think a combination of those three will work, read on. If you don't, well, why bother.

What I can tell you that in the forty minutes that you get to enjoy "A Hymn Among Gravestones" there is no escaping the fact that IAN HIGHHILL is capable or writing good songs that have a pull, that will draw you in and that will pique your interest from the first second until the last. The combination of low guitars with almost doomy rhythms with a bluesy undertone in the title track "A Hymn Among Gravestones" work just as well as the faster pace and impressive attitude that carries a song like "In The Name Of Greed". The drumming in combination with the thundering bass sounds do provide an extra layer of heaviness to an already very imposing tune. And those kinds of references are available and apparent throughout the whole album.

It does help that he is a very accomplished and pleasant sounding singer, as his voice makes complements the music, has that kind of ring that will make you appreciate that he is trying to be a part of the music instead of attempting to rise above it all. For someone who's been going for such a long time IAN HIGHHILL is demonstrating that he has learned from his past as a musician as well as from the bands he considers his peers. That combination makes "A Hymn Among Gravestones" into a very solid, decent album that is very pleasant on the ears and brains. This may not be anyone's album of the year; I bet that a lot of old fashioned Metalheads will be able to enjoy every second of "A Hymn Among Gravestones".