GTGC Reviews
email: gavinals69@aol.com
  • Reviews
  • Live Music
  • THE SPANISH ANNOUNCE TABLE

Flat Earth - "None For One"

3/12/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Anniversaries…usually happy times shared by couples as they grow old together, celebrating their love and commitment to one another…sometimes they can be nostalgic or, historic; marking so-many years since an incident or an event…though other times they can be painful; tainted with sad memories and tearful reminders, and I’m afraid in this instance we’re referring to the latter. Yes it’s nearly been a year now since Ville Valo and HIM went out with a bang and a whimper on their, admittedly rushed, 2017 farewell tour… a whole year of knowing that the Heartagram had beaten for the last time, buried alive by its own love, and it’s a truly sad fact. However…even the most melancholic gothic-laced grey clouds have silver linings, and in this instance, after a metaphorical mass funeral of hearts, in HIM’s absence we’ve got some new projects from our favourite Finn’s! Let me introduce you to FLAT EARTH…

A Finnish super-group of sorts…HIM’s six-string maestro Linde Lindstrom and former drummer Gas Lipstick make up 50% of the band, while it’s completed by former AMORPHIS bassist Niclas Etelavuori and POLANSKI vocalist Anthony Pikkarainen, and together, over the past several months they have stripped everything back, wiped the slate clean and written a no-nonsense, no frills, no gimmicks hard rock album by the name of “None For One”. The question is, is their musical prowess better than their apparent grasp of basic geology? Let’s find out…

We open up with “Subhuman” and ironically, it’s what you’d suggest someone who DOES believe that the Earth is flat would be in terms of mental capacity…slightly sluggish in tone for the most part, it comprises of slower riffs and percussion, combining a classic rock tone with just a touch of blues metal, although there’s an incredibly subtle middle-eastern feel to some of the more melodic guitar notes. Pretty straightforward stuff but it’s a fine start nevertheless. “Blame” follows up and here we find Anthony leading the musical direction more with a primarily 90’s grunge-inspired piece, backed with Linde’s distinctive string-work…the solo here is classic Linde, his fret-work is on point and you remember here how underrated a guitarist he really is.

This combination of styles is, for the most part the very foundation of this album as a whole…the back-to-basics, guitar heavy instrumentation being the very backbone of their sound while vocally we hark back to a simpler time; clean but with a certain raw emotion and in ways, at numerous points throughout this record you get a sense of ALICE IN CHAINS meets THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, really embracing those 90’s characteristics. The title track is a wonderful example, highlighting the above point really quite well…”Noble Swine” has some intense percussion and oh how we’ve missed Gas behind a drum kit, he can really drive a track and here he does just that…also baring a light resemblance to Linde’s other work with DANIEL LIONEYE in tone, before album highlight “Limelight” carries you away with a genuinely catchy little harmonic chorus and a simplistic groove. The rest of the album is generally run of the mill hard rock but as I said, that’s the aesthetic they’ve gone for; nothing fancy or over the top…just some good honest rock, which is fine. Admittedly it CAN feel a little lethargic at times, and if anything is to blame for that it IS Anthony’s vocals…maybe it’s just because I’m not too used to them and, to some extent can’t quite yet fully separate this from HIM, but he’s no Ville Valo. I know that’s the point to a degree, but this album DOES lack in belters and could do with a shot of adrenaline really. He’s got the emotion, but lacks in power. Overall the Earth here isn’t entirely flat, but it’s only just slightly concaved…they need a little more depth next time around. [5]

WWW.FLATEARTH.BAND
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    News & Reviews

    Gavin J Griffiths, a.k.a GavTheGothicChav, lover of new music and supporter of bands. Inspired by a mixture of horror and comedy, and fueled by a blend of alcohol and sarcasm...if you're a singer / in a band and would like a review written up, please do get in touch via the email address at the top of the page and I'll get back to you ASAP. Much love x

    Follow @GavinJGriffiths

      CHAV CHAT

    ASK GAV!

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Acoustic
    Alternative
    Article
    Black Metal
    Blues
    Book
    Classic
    Classic Rock
    Comedy
    Competition
    Compilation
    Country
    Death Metal
    Doom
    Electronic
    Emo
    EP
    France
    Funk
    Games
    Glam Rock
    Gothic
    Grime
    Grunge
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Metal
    Hip Hop
    Hip-Hop
    Indie
    Industrial
    Interview
    Jazz
    J-Rock
    Melodic Death
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Newport
    New Wave
    Nu Metal
    Nu-Metal
    Pop
    Pop Punk
    Pop-Punk
    Pop Rock
    Post Punk
    Post-Punk
    Prog
    Punk
    Punk Rock
    Rap
    Reggae
    Rock
    Rock 'N' Roll
    Shoegaze
    Ska
    Sludge
    Soft Rock
    Southern Metal
    Southern Rock
    Stoner
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Thrash
    Unsigned
    Urban

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly