Blind Hen, a relatively young band hailing from the South of Finland is definitely one of those bands with a very promising future ahead. The band, which has been founded in 2015, has a lineup consisting out of very talented musicians and some of them have been part of Embassy of Silence and Amberian Dawn. The four-piece have created a beautiful, heavy and psychedelic slab of progressive rock.
The band has recently released their debut EP, called Life. The EP contains four songs. A quick look at Life’s artwork and the band’s logo tells me already a lot about how the music will turn out to be and my expectations were realized by offering me a trip to the 80s. The four-piece tab into grunge, progressive rock and psychedelic rock and they do have that retro ’80s sound.
An interesting fact is that all of Blind Hen’s songs are inspired by movies starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Knowing this beforehand, it allowed me to search for links and different kinds of perspective to the music, making some songs even stronger. But even more so, discovering which song refers to what movie, is a really fun game by itself and a clever thing to keep the listeners captivated. The fact that the articulation of the Teppo Tirkkonen was clear, made it easy to follow and listen to.
“As A Monster” kicks off with a brief, groovy bass intro before the psychedelic-styled guitars and drums kick in along with Tirkkonen’s vocals. When the song progresses it becomes heavier and heavier, reminding us of grunge legends Alice in Chains. It weaves between grungy and psychedelic sections, before bursting into heavy riffs that get you to move to the beat almost instantly. This track is a very impressive opener for the EP and it sets the right mood, moreover it shows us the potential and what’s in line for us during this listening-trip. More progressive is “Titantic” while often reminding us of the latter, there also seems to be a reference to Opeth, with interesting yet progressive parts to the song and there’s no denying that the link to Leo is quite clear here. If you’re a fan of impressive guitar solos, definitely listen to “Catch”, which is definitely the most catchy – pun intended – song of the EP.
The four songs are very coherent and do have the same atmosphere and vibe to them. If you think that would make the album boring, I would have to disagree strongly. All of the songs do sound different in their own way, because they all tap into different genres and inspirations. This makes Blind Hen’s music very experimental. Each of the songs is catchy, progressive and experimental, yet the style is uniform and clear, it’s Blind Hen.
Not only are the songs strong, the atmospheric aspect of the songs is definitely worth mentioning, by closing your eyes and listening to this music, you are about to set up into a psychedelic trip, that might be tough to escape from. Often the music surprises you and it captures you and keeps you there at the spot. The experimental approach into both the sound and concept, makes us excited to hear more from them. So if you are a fan of grunge, psychedelic rock or progressive rock, then this is an EP worth listening to for you! Remember to support your local band, these guys surely deserve it.
Tracklist
1. As a Monster
2. Titanic
3. The Maze
4. Catch
Line-up
Teppo Tirkkonen – Vocals
Tero Kalliomäki – Guitars
Antti Valkama – Bass
Joonas Pykälä-Aho – Drums
