Hailing from Finland, MIDNIGHT BULLET is a four-piece, edgy hard rock band that has just released their second full-length album, "Lose My Face", via Inverse Records. Following in the footsteps of their debut album, "Faraday Cage", this offering delivers chunky guitar riffs and gritty, in your face vocals that smoothly bridge into melodic choruses, planting a seed that roots it's way into the core of your brain. "Lose My Face" is one of the more infectious releases I've listened to in quite a while.

Although this sophomore album is a bit more polished than their debut, it still has the powerful groove that put these guys on the map. Consisting of Tuomas Lahti on vocals/guitar, Lauri Ikonen on lead guitar, Timo Nokelainen on bass/vocals, and Mikko Nokelainen drums, MIDNIGHT BULLET's sound possesses a bit of punk, the heaviness and swagger of early STAIND, while maintaining catchy, melodic choruses, reminiscent of SHINEDOWN. The songwriting is outstanding and each of the 10 tracks on the album displays its own personality, with an abundance tempo changes and mood swings.

A few of the standout tracks are; the lead track, "Memories Are Gone", which breaks out like a classic NWOBHM track and, just about the time you think the double bass drums are about to kick in, bridges into a really melodic chorus. The heaviness comes back, post chorus, and will have you moshing around like a schoolyard brawl. This pattern sets the tone for the rest of the album. My favorite track on the release, "Walking Down the Line", brought back memories of ATOMIC OPERA (one of my favorite bands of all time), as well as strong influences from LINKIN PARK. With its groove-laden, chunky guitars and perfectly mixed gruff/melodic vocals, this song has been stuck in my head for a couple of weeks now. "Hope", the final track and closest thing to a power ballad on the album, is where the talent really shines. On this song, MIDNIGHT BULLET proves that there is nothing that they don't do well, and display everything necessary for them to shine brightly on the hard rock radar. If you're a fan of some of the powerful, down-tempo STAIND hits of old, you'll love this song. Although these are three of my favorites, there is not a bad song anywhere to be found on "Lose My Face".

I haven't seen the band play live yet, but with the amount of talent, outstanding songwriting, and musical passion these guys put into this record, I hope to soon. I strongly recommend this album.