Smackbound – '20/20'

For many years, Nordic countries have produced some outstanding rock and metal music; however, it’s fair to say that Finland has been one of the leaders in the movement! For a country with a population of just over 5.5 million (similar to Scotland), the Finns have produced some bonafide superstar bands who made and continue to make great music! Hanoi Rocks, Apocalyptica, HIM, Nightwish, Brother Firetribe and Reckless Love are just a few successes… and who could forget the mask-wearing, horror-themed rockers Lordi, who blew away their generic Euro-pop competitors and rampaged to victory at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest? Hard Rock Hallelujah indeed!

Taking cognisance of the country’s musical pedigree, it was no great surprise when Italian rock/metal record label Frontiers announced the signing of the Helsinki-based Smackbound earlier in the year. Led by female vocalist Netta Laurenne, the band also features Teemu Mantysaari (guitar), Rolf Pilve (drums), Vili Itapelto (keyboards) and Tuomas Yli-Jaskari (bass). With members having previous experience in bands such as Wintersun, Stratovarious and Tracedawn, the band started writing their own music quickly after forming in 2015 whilst also performing as a live cover band to hone their craft. After signing the deal with Frontiers, they released a 4-track EP ‘taster’ in March before their debut album, 20/20, was released on 12th June.

The title of the album, 20/20, appears to be an obvious statement of the year of release and I dare say this has a part to play… but a closer look at the hauntingly striking cover art suggests a deeper meaning involving 20/20 vision and the search for visual acuity in everything we do. As I write this, the world really needs some proper vision! Is this something that Smackbound can provide on 20/20… in 2020?!

Opening track Wall of Silence is anything but that! Kicking off with a guitar power chord and snare drum rolls before launching into a fast paced song with a catchy guitar line throughout the verse, Netta Laurenne’s powerful and gritty vocals sound positively seething from the outset. The chorus is melodic with what sounds like 90s rave keyboards in the background balancing out the fast riffing guitar, bass-heavy drums and shredding guitar solo. Lyrically, it’s a strangely prophetic song that actually fits in with current world affairs. “Pull your head out from your ass now” and “you oughta be honest” commands Netta. It’s a track that doesn’t stop for breath and is the perfect introduction to Smackbound.

Second track, the humorously titled Drive It Like You Stole It, starts with a catchy little riff that’s reminiscent of Royal Blood’s 2014 hit Figure It Out but that’s where comparisons end as the gravelly lead vocals provide an instruction in how to win at life! “You gotta be yourself. Let the true you win” and “Be the predator, not the prey”. It’s good advice, backed by solid music! Tuomas Yli-Jaskari’s bass drives the song along throughout with Rolf Pilve’s hard hitting drums never missing a beat. The rave-sounding keyboards make another appearance in the background, maintaining a kind of urgency to the track whilst an excellent but standard hard rock guitar solo provides room for some air guitar playing (incidentally, a famous pastime in Finland!).

Close to Sober brings the tempo down a bit with a piano intro by Vili Itapelto accompanied by a beautiful string arrangement. The vocals are more controlled and clearer on this track with Netta fully showcasing her talent. It’s an atmospheric track, particularly in the verses, with heavy guitars and drums only prominent in the soaring chorus. It’s a ballad, yet it’s still heavy in places and it still rocks. The highlight for me is the cinematic string arrangements towards the end of the track. They completely open up the music, evoking images of mountains and fantasy lands seen in movies such as Lord of the Rings. It’s genuinely breathtaking stuff and leads nicely into the next track, Run. This is

a heavier track underpinned by Teemu Mantysaari’s chunky guitar riff and a prominent drum sound. At less than 3 minutes in length, it’s one of the shortest tracks on the album but I’d say it has the potential to be a live favourite. The layered vocals explore the higher end of Netta’s vocal range in places but her tone and pitch remain impeccable throughout.

As the album reaches the midway point with fifth track The Game, there’s further exploration of cinematic strings, bringing a more panoramic sound to the music. The track starts with piano, a bed of atmospheric keyboards and beautiful vocals before completely opening up for a majestic chorus. It’s an epic track with a mesmerising, prog-sounding keyboard solo. The drums never quite take flight on this one, instead providing a supporting role to the rest of the music. It’s kind of the same idea as what Queen did with Who Wants to Live Forever… but I think you’d have to hear it for yourself to fully understand what I mean.

The pace picks up again with Those Who Burn, a track that was also released as a single at the end of May with an official lyric video. Some impressive double bass kicks by Pilve make regular appearances on this and drives the song into the Metallica-style rhythm guitars of the verse. After displaying more controlled and at times emotional vocals on the last few tracks, Netta Laurenne let’s rip on this one, spitting out “I don’t give a fuck” with so much conviction that you can’t help but believe her! She’s here to tell a story with her music and she’s insists that you listen and learn! This brutal honesty continues into the next track, the unusually titled Hey Motherfuckers. Despite it’s explicit lyrical content that would probably render the track unlistenable to your grandparents, I have no doubt that this will become a fan favourite! Rock and metal fans have never really been shy about profanity and whilst I’m not personally a fan of lyrics being littered with swearing for no reason, it kind of works perfectly here and fits nicely with the tone of the music. It’s a moody but fun party track and it’s definitely strange in the bridge section to hear the generally uncouth phrase “hey motherfuckers” sung with such angelic delicacy!

The eighth track Troublemaker has a very punky vibe to it and is relentless from beginning to end. The vocals and music are fast and furious and it’s amazing that Netta Laurenne doesn’t become tongue-tied due to the pace she repeatedly sings “wait a minute, this can’t be happening”. This is followed by the penultimate track Date With the Devil which is probably the only track where I can draw comparisons with Finnish contemporaries Nightwish… but even at that, it’s only noticeable in the chorus with the driving bass and drums accompanied by crunching guitars and strings. Mantysaari’s guitar work is excellent and even when playing at speed, he never loses control.

20/20 reaches a conclusion with Wind and Water, a song that pretty much brings together all the musical elements that have been apparent throughout the album into one track. At 6 minutes, it’s a long listen but there’s enough going on to retain interest. Starting as a piano led ballad with exquisite vocals that could grace any music genre, the song builds to a crescendo in the chorus with the return of cinematic-sounding strings, soaring vocals and guitar power chords; a powerful combination that rarely fails to hit the mark! It’s a fitting end to an album that started with a bang 40 minutes earlier.

It would be far too easy to label Smackbound alongside their fellow countrymen and women in bands such as Nightwish or to say that Netta Laurenne is another Tarja Turunen in the making. But it would also be lazy and inaccurate. In many ways, Smackbound have broken the mould of Nordic rock and metal, creating music that pays a respectful homage to the past whilst sounding unique and fresh. It’s melodic metal… but with hard rock sensibilities! It’s definitely symphonic… but without being pretentious! It’s brutally heavy one minute… yet delicate, atmospheric and emotional the next! In Netta Laurenne, they have a vocalist who can soar into Heaven on one track… and then

explore the depths of Hell on the next! As I say, it’s hard to label… but what I do know is that this is a classy debut album.

Frontiers releases are often criticised for being very generic or even cruelly, music by numbers. But with Smackbound, they have truly struck gold. Someone at the label had incredibly clear 20/20 vision when they spotted the potential in this Finnish band! Let’s see where they can go from here. On this form… the sky is truly the limit!