Back in 2020, SMACKBOUND released their debut album of a similar name, right at the start of the pandemic. Unfortunately, said pandemic managed to stomp out almost all of their live shows, so this excellent album was not able to see as many stages as it should have. Nevertheless, with such a strong lineup of great talent, the announcement of “Hostage” for April 21, 2023, was a welcome one and we were happy to get the chance to give it a spin as soon as possible.
Read our interview with Netta Laurenne here!
The album starts off strong with “Reap,” on ominous guitar lines and strong lyrics, making for a punchy opener for the album, getting things off to a good start! Immediately, we get a taste of awesome guitar work from Teemu Mäntysaari in the excellent solo. The riffing on both the guitar and keyboards towards the end also makes for a tight track. Next up is “Change,” one of the first singles, which stands out for being catchy enough to stick in your ear, as well as some nice keyboard touches, but perhaps lacks a little punch due to its somewhat repetitive vocals and middling tempo.
“Razor Sharp” is anything but in sound, with Netta Laurenne‘s amazing raspy vocals showing up and some interesting vocal lines in the bridges. Again, the sound in this one is a bit straightforward though and though the chorus is powerful, it’s maybe a bit lackluster on the whole. They tease a slightly NIGHTWISH-y sound in the immediate intro to “Rodrigo,” which ends up being a total fake-out, as it goes into a more groovy zone with slightly industrial elements at times, making this another album highlight. Somehow, this song brings to mind a dramatic heavy metal version of Lady Gaga‘s “Alejandro,” which is never a bad thing.
“Break” is another upbeat track with a particularly anthemic chorus, boasting another nice guitar solo, though this is perhaps one of the overall less-impactful tracks. However, this turns around quickly with the album’s first ballad, “Imperfect Day.” Largely led by pianos in the beginning, it amps up the drama in the chorus, with an ebb and flow between the peacefulness and drama throughout. This track has the power to get heavily stuck in your head for days on end, so be warned (I’m saying that from experience, of course). “Graveyard” has a punchy intro before smoothly transitioning into melodic rock. There is some power metal blasting in the drums and a kick-up after a couple choruses, but the song again doesn’t manage to stand out much against some of the more vivid tracks.
“Traveling Back” immediately brings both a country music vibe in the opening strumming guitar sound, along with a bit of Finnish iskelmä-rock, like TEHOSEKOITIN. That is, at least before the chorus, which is pretty rockin’ on the whole. Then, the more shredding “Hold the Fire” boasts some of the craziest/weirdest/most experimental vocal parts on the album. The title track, “Hostage,” has some really soaring parts, with an almost Eurovision-hit vibe in some moments. There haven’t been as many empowerment anthems on this release as there were on “20/20,” which makes this song shine, as does its guitar solo, which may very well be the best one on this release. The album wraps up with another ballad, “The Edge,” which cranks up the drama again, with symphonic elements added in once more, along with wailing guitars and powerful vocals. This is a 9-minute piece, though it doesn’t necessarily feel like it. The music fades into ambient territory towards the end, leading to a fairly long spoken-word outro. This might seem out of place on a metal album, with this sort of thing invoking more of a hip-hop vibe, or at least metalcore, but it’ll surely come down to personal preference as to whether the outro works for you or not.
“Hostage” proves to be an interesting release in many ways. If we were to take an impression from the band’s debut album, it’s that they have a straightforward driven rock/metal sound but with lots of twists and turns and little additions to spice things up and keep it fresh. This album has some tracks that still take those twists and turns, though there are also a lot of songs that are just… straightforward. In our interview, Netta implied that about half of this album was written leisurely, while the other half was written in a month, so perhaps pressure from the label is why some of the songs sound a little under-baked, or like they borrowed melodies from the last album. It was clearly written with skill, but does seem like it might have needed a bit more time for some songs to be fleshed out a bit. Nevertheless, there are still quite a few good tracks on the album, so don’t let this one slide by without giving it a spin! Though not everything will stick in your head, the songs that do will absolutely leave their mark.
Tracklist
- Reap
- Change
- Razor Sharp
- Rodrigo
- Break
- Imperfect Day
- Graveyard
- Traveling Back
- Hold The Fire
- Hostage
- The Edge
Lineup
Netta Laurenne – vocals
Teemu Mäntysaari – guitars
Vili Itäpelto – keyboards
Rolf Pilve – drums
Tuomas Yli-Jaskari – bass
Label
Frontiers Music Srl
