Finland, a country that I must admit has surprised me in recent times as they have been able to spurn out some pretty good Rock & Metal releases. I'm not really that surprised now that I think about it as anyone who knows me knows I have a strong liking for music from European bands as this one continent alone has some pretty genius songwriters and also brilliant bands too. Whether or not the songs are good or not depends on the writing, the genre, the production and of course the performance but you know what, I'm rambling so I'll shut up and get on with reviewing a new album from a European band who are from Finland and there name is V FOR VIOLENCE.

Formed in 2007 in Helsinki in Finland, this quintet of Alternative/Industrial Metal musicians released their debut album "The Cult of V" in 2009. After a six year gap of writing new songs and playing live shows, the band are back and ready to release the follow up to their debut, entitled "The Book of V" and that shall be the focus of this review so let's dive straight into it.

Clocking it at around 45 minutes playtime across 11 tracks, the album kicks off with "The Hated Saint" and although I do like the heaviness of the musical melodies as it is head-bang material, the vocals leave me a bit uncertain as I can either not hear what's being sung, or I hear too much growl-y, scream-o singing going on and I think the latter applies more to the vocals as they are not bad per-say, but they're not really something I enjoyed hearing. Next up is the first of a two partner song entitled "The Downfall" and the first part is entitled "To Feel Alive" and the melodies are still heavy like the first song, but the vocal performance is a little bit better and although there are still growl-y moments here and there, the clarity of the lyrics is a little bit clearer.

Next up is "Never Enough" and this one is beyond bonkers in terms of the melodies,which are insane and heavy, meaning there is plenty to head-bang to, and the vocals are also pretty nutty too, really giving it their all with some mega punch and oomph, even if there are a few moments where the lyrics are a little unclear and a little growl-y, but the performance is a little bit of an improvement compared to the first two songs so things are slowly improving. "Like It Like That" is one of the more enjoyable tracks as the melodies are once again bonkers and heavy with some heavy guitars and punchy vocals, which are a little bit more clearer this time despite a couple of hard to hear words here and there.

"I Need You" is the albums halfway point track, and I'm a little unsure about this one as although the melodies are mildly enjoyable this time, the vocals as usual leave me feeling a little unsure, and I'm not really sure if I can really make out much to determine whether or not I like the performance, and I'm not too sure why this is so it's one of those listen to it yourself to form your own judgment kind of songs if you know what I mind. "A Place To Fill" is the song that kicks off the albums second half and I think it's here where things start to go downhill as both the melodies and vocals seem a little messy and all over the place meaning you can never really tell what's going on or what notes or words are being played or sung. "God On A Trial" continues the downhill trend as although the melodies are a little bit more clearer then the previous song, the vocals I'm not so sure of as I can never really make out what is being sung as the words seem to be either buried underneath the music,too fast paced for me to hear what's being song or overtaken by the growling in the background.

"Sodomedia" is a song that I listen to and my first thoughts are "what the hell is going on?" as when I listen to both the vocal and music melodies, I begin to wonder what's actually going on as they seem to be all over the place meaning you spend most of your time wondering what's actually being sung/played. "Not A Word" is one of those songs where you really cannot understand a single word that's being sung, as although the melodies aren't as messy compared to the previous track, the vocals and the lyrics seem to be buried underneath a mixture of the music and background growling, to the point where the name of the song is what you will say when someone asks if you can make out the lyrics, as you really will find yourself saying "not a word". I don't really need to explain myself with the next song as the name of it speaks for itself and that name is "What The Fuck!".

Last of all but not least we have the second part of "The Downfall" which is entitled "Amourageddon" and this last song on an otherwise mixed album, is exactly what this record needed, as it follows the same formula as the first few songs which is heavy and insane, but simple yet enjoyable, which let's face it is refreshing when you bear in mind that the last few songs on the record have been a bit mixed, and although this one does have a few hit and miss vocal parts, it's still an improvement on the previous few songs.

Production and mixing on this album seems to be a bit mixed depending on the song and the same is said for the performances. Sometimes it will be heavy and insane but clear one minute, but then there are a few songs where the music and vocal melodies are all over the place the next, meaning you can never really make sense of what's going on.

The vocals on this record have been very much hit or miss for me, as although there have been a couple of enjoyable moments here and there, for the most part I've been left baffled and confused, as at times I cannot make out what is actually being sung, as either the performance is too savage, the lyrics become buried underneath the music, or there is too much screaming and growling going on.

Bottom line, the new album from V FOR VIOLENCE is pretty much what I expected from an album in the Industrial Metal genre as although the music is somewhat enjoyable, there were a few points where I wished it could have been better as at times it left me feeling a little confused and a little unsure of what was actually going on. Give this a listen yourself to see if you think differently to my views but personally, this was not something I enjoyed as I found it to be a bit mediocre.<