Arising from what was then still a dark cloud in 2015, Heroes Don’t Ask Why rose to existence in Kokkola and is our next band in line for our support your local band threat. The four piece released their first self-titled album, containing six different tracks in December 2016. While they don’t want to put a label on themselves, they call their music “divorce metal, with a rock attitude”. A well sorted out combo of rock and metal.
The album begins with “Seen It All”. A song that has a rough, “ready to rumble”-attitude. The track provides us expressive imagery as animated as the raw guitars that encase it. It’s a strong opener for the album and also immediately shows us what the band is trying to do and its potential.
Each track has a different feel, although the riffs are often dirty and distorted, the melodies captivating, the bass lines crunchy and the rhythms grooving. Each song is as good as the one before it, providing a refreshing sound, sometimes leaning into the direction of power metal, with most apparent the vocals of Jussi Pajunpää. The tracks nevertheless have a good combination of rock and the heaviness of metal, and the combination of riffs and rhythms make that the vocalist does sound like he is right where he belongs.
Elsewhere, tracks like “Heroes” and “Paralyzed” are straight down the line of those metal anthems that make our heads bang and raise our fists into the air, but it is when the band explore melody and different ideas, as they do on “Frostbites“ that they sound most interesting, with the track having a distinct Rage or even Grave Digger feel to them. The other tracks are also exploring sounds in the same way, however some of the ideas could benefit still to be a bit more developed and perhaps lack a bit in consistency. Although the songs structural very strong and interesting, this consistency is a bit necessary to further develop their sound. I feel though that they are definitely on the right track!
Overall this album is a very powerful start for Heroes Don’t Ask Why and it shows that the band certainly have a great amount of potential. Hopefully, the ideas they have for their music will still grown, which will make their next release even more intriguing and even an anticipated prospect. After all these six tracks are only a taste of what they’re capable of. Watch out for these guys, because they’re coming!
Tracklist
1. Seen It All
2. Heroes
3. Time Runs Out
4. Paralyzed
5. Frostbites
6. Goodbye
