Skulking out from the sprawling forests of Lake Paijanne in Finland to loose their fury on the masses comes BLOOD REGION. A band that took some time to get off the ground over the years, BLOOD REGION is finally ready to come out of the shadows of the forest glens to give us Tale of the Backwoods their first full-length release. Drawing listeners in with sounds of the forests and far away hovering notes in the first track "Transcendence into Magic". Tales of the Backwoods lay poised, ready to steal us away into the thick of the trees, and soon we will be taken far from all we've known to a place that knows only of destruction and hatred.

We arrive at "Phantom Lands" and those residual feelings of dread turn to feelings of anger as the guitars swell and send us sprinting through unfamiliar territory as a hunt ensues, featuring a tortured sitar interlude and the infamous "Now I am become Death..." soundbite from late physicist and scientific director of the Manhattan Project, Robert Oppenheimer. There are few places to hide from BLOOD REGION's incoming wrath, and wherever you might find refuge is merely temporary. Featuring distorted, muddy screams and riding at breakneck tempo speeds comes "Korpi Metal Riders (From the Ostrobothnian Days)". Vocalist Ira Green knows how to pack a Thrash punch. Still running blindly into the thick of the secret forest, we're in "Through the Wolfwoods". A Power Metal-worthy territory crawling with creatures of the night ready to take down prey and Ira's operatic chords following us at every pace. "Kaiho" (Finnish for 'Languor') is a small sojourn from the chase with a relaxed ballad sung excellently in the band's country's native tongue.

Other breaks from the noise include "Mountain of White Fire", "Wahanca", and "Waters of Tohtaa". BLOOD REGION takes you from terrifying chase to uncharacteristic heart to heart. Almost like they had a moment to think that killing for thrill wasn't making them happy so they decided instead to just be vulnerable for a change. Like a wolf laying down and telling the rabbit it's caught their life story instead of eating it. BLOOD REGION are full of life and pain, but are also very intimate at plenty of intervals. Tales from the Backwoods is quite complex.