I must clarify something right from the start; I cannot be objective when it comes to Battle Beast due to the fact that I truly believe that it is one of the finest (if not THE finest) bands of the last decade. Their last couple of albums are nothing less than brilliant and if you are lucky enough to witness one of their live shows, well you are gonna become a die hard fan…instantly! Having said that, I was kinda curious and why not reserved in regards with what I was about to receive with the new Battle Beast record as this would be the band’s first studio effort without Anton Kabanen who was the prime songwriter in the band. So, was “Bringer of Pain” what we’d expected from Battle Beast? Did it meet our expectations? Let’s see…
The album kicks off with one of the band’s best songs ever, the highly energetic “Straight To The Heart” that is kind similar to the overall atmosphere of “Let It Roar”. Noora sings like there is no tomorrow and quite honestly we couldn’t have hoped for a better start. The title track is not something exceptional and luckily for all of us this was the only indifferent moment on the album. The rest of the songs on “Bringer of Pain” are majestic, frenzy and truly inspired and well-crafted! “King For A Day” and “Familiar Hell” definitely stand out as it is the same with the case of “Beyond The Burning Skies” and “Far From Heaven” which are classic Battle Beast compositions. But the best moment on the album is the superb “Dancing With The Beast” which reminds a lot of “Touch In The Night” and I believe that this is the perfect style for Battle Beast: power 80s pop with catchy rock hooks!
All in all, I’d say that the biggest difference to the previous album is that there are very few symphonic elements this time around and the emphasis has been given to a more “in your face, straight forward, hard rock” style. “Bringer of Pain” is what we were truly expecting from Battle Beast! It might not reach the qualitative level of its self-titled album of 2013 (personally, this is almost unthinkable as this was the band’s magnum opus) but Battle Beast is back and ready for attack! Can’t wait for the upcoming tour…
Highlight: This must be Noora’s best vocal performance…
