One of Finland’s most up-and-coming heavy metal bands is back with a new single! OCEANHOARSE – made up of the great foursome of Joonas “Jon” Kosonen (vocals), Ben Varon (guitars), Jyri Helko (bass), and Oskari Niemi (drums) – released their latest single, “Reaching Skywards,” on May 7th, 2021, and we naturally had to get the fullest experience possible!
What have we learned to expect from OCEANHOARSE so far? Well, Varon‘s crushing riffs are a given, Kosonen‘s wails are a definite, as well as an utterly sick rhythm section from Helko and Niemi, are a given. And boy does the band deliver! Immediately, this track is an utterly crushing heavy metal powerhouse. As a very live-oriented band, this is going to be something to look forward to live! The chorus is particularly great, as it adds a touch more melody into the already roaring heavy riffing, making this easily singalong-able, even if the band as a whole sticks more to face-crushing metal than anthemic singalongs. It’s a great depiction of their sound and a pleasant expansion on what we’ve already heard.
OCEANHOARSE are a very cool band, because they are known for doing things… well, not by the books. They hosted a festival before they even had an album out and, when corona hit, compromising their recording plans, they opted to release their first album live with the recordings from their tour with Marko Hietala. If nothing else, they certainly keep things interesting, though the stellar music doesn’t hurt! If you like pure heavy metal with no backing tracks that will kick your ass all around the room live, this is a band you should be paying a lot of attention to!
Want to learn more about the single? We asked OCEANHOARSE some questions about it on IGTV! Also check out our Spotify playlist, where you can find the most recent singles from rising Finnish bands.
