Blog Post
Laurenne / Louhimo - 'The Reckoning'
Iain McArthur • 20 July 2021
Album Review
As well as currently being two of the finest contemporary female rock voices, Netta Laurenne (Smackbound) and Noora Louhimo (Battle Beast) also have a home town in common (Tampere, Finland). Both ladies have featured separately in other Frontiers projects but now the Italian label has brought them together, alongside Netta’s husband Nino on guitar, and the Laurenne spouses take care of all the writing and production. It’s a combination that works strikingly well on this solid slab of vintage-sounding hard rock / metal, with the singers taking turns to raise the bar (and the volume) ever higher.
Both the powerful title track and “Striking Like a Thunder” are early highlights with the two friends’ strong vocals stomping all over the thumping beats laid down by Sampo Haapaniemi. Things get even heavier with the frankly frightening “Bitch Fire” which is reminiscent of ‘Painkiller’ era Judas Priest. There are some moments when they briefly take their foot off the gas, such as “Hurricane Love” and the melodic but punchy “Viper’s Kiss”, but overall, it’s a high- octane affair and very impressive. Tampere’s got talent.