The beauty of Metal, and arguably music in general, is that different cultures or country of original almost always produce music of individuality. Such is the case in Finland's very own heavy metal band DELAYHEAD. I was sincerely impressed after going through their new album; a smooth, yet heavy blend of Heavy Thrash dashed with melodic flourishes; the kind that find their home in most Finnish bands. Think Barlow-era ICED EARTH. Even the vocals remind me of WINTERSUN; little thoughtful touches throughout the tracks that make you nod and think "Hell yeah, this is Finnish."

"...To Die / Live for" begins with a catchy noodling upon a clean guitar that is built upon into a powerful and heavy intro riff that is full of energy. The entire piece is upbeat and most sufficiently heavy, with sparingly Thrashy nuances and catchy, Progressive flourishes in the guitar licks. "Deadman Walking" more or less depicts a light-speed (ludicrous-speed?) flash of riffs and kick drums that manages to edge in on some slightly Groove-influences riffs. I felt as if this track personified the true-blood Heavy Metal honesty of the band, and became my favorite fairly quickly.  The combination of Tuomas' balancing of James Hetfield's aggressiveness and the raw power of Matt Barlow, along with raucous gang vocals, served to only further flesh out this hunk of steel.

I heard what I thought was yet another throwback to ICED EARTH in "Shut my Mind", which was kept fairly low tempo and consists of a winding mix of somber, acoustic verses and powerful, electrifying choruses, employing highly recognizable chord and melodic shifts. "Flask" is yet another display of raw, heavy, thrashing musical power, alternating been blistering speed runs and heavy-as-hell chugs. Tuomas brings out a unique and unorthodox catchiness in his voice; a term that some may not apply to such a raucous brand of vocals found in most similar Heavy Metal bands. Easily another favorite that almost matches the excellent "Deadman Walking".

Once again we have a band that allows us to look further than the 80's for some classic-inspired Heavy Metal. Ironically, their sound is only enhanced by the raw, no-frills recording and mixing, which left perfect audibility of each of the instruments; the way Heavy Metal should be.