I hate it when I get music I requested for review, but there is no information to ben attached to the musical files that come my way. Unfortunately, that is the case with PHANTOMY, which is a Finnish Heavy Metal band from Iisalmi, Pohjois-Savo. The kind of HM they play is Old School Melodic Metal mixed with Glam Rock, with a lot of the emphasis on the latter. You could call them a Party Rock band, like POISON and CINDERELLA were, but there are differences. After starting the band some five years ago in 2020, we finally have some proof of their existence with their debut album “From the Wild”, which is throwing its noises out of my speakers.

What I can tell you first off is that musically you will not be disappointed by PHANTOMY. They write good music, where the riffs are pure Melodic Heavy Metal interwoven with a lot of Glam parts. It all sounds quite light-hearted, upbeat and rather straight-forward. No difficult riffing., no extensive breaks, no weird turns or style changes. And the musicians are really playing it in a way that will not only remind you of the bands I already mentioned, but also of THE SWEET and even SLADE. And therein lies the quality that has made me appreciate “From the Wild” as a very nice album. You might also think of MÖTLEY CRÜE, but that is mainly due to the high pitched and nasal voice that makes you feel that singer Samu Karhu is trying to emanate Vince Neil. He probably isn’t, but this way of thinking is not far off the mark.

As for the songs themselves, they are alright. If you are one of those who wants some depth and meaning to be added into the music, you might want to listen before you decide, because to me the intellectual level of this music is just as much an empty promise as the contents of some world leader’s non-existent brains. But let me put it this way; if you are looking for a good time and feel good record you can do a lot worse than trying out PHANTOMY, as “From the Wild” will have you dancing, twisting and turning in no time. So, you will have a smile on your face before you know it. and sometimes that is all you need. I hope that after this first step PHANTOMY is allowed to follow it up and show us that they have improved. Until then we’ll have to make do with “From the Wild”.