Corroder of Minds

Adastra is a Finnish heavy metal band in the mode of Tarot – as I suppose many Finnish bands are liable to succumb to. Adastra has the sound down pat from the heavy, jagged riffing to the super melodic, almost folksy choruses and the hard rock rhythms. This is their third album, but the first one I’ve ever heard, so all I can do is judge it based on that.

This is a pretty short album at just barely over 40 minutes with eight songs, but the band doesn’t waste any time for that; kicking right off with the killer “Ripcord Rock.” This is a kick ass metal tune with a stomping riff and a ton of attitude. You’ll notice right away that singer Ville Siikamaki has a sneering, nasally tone that sounds a bit like Biff Byford sucking helium, while on crack. It took me a few listens to get used to, but he sells these songs with real conviction and style, so I like him. The riffs are cranking, heavy slabs of metal, but the rhythm section is definitely more on the hard rock side, so the overall effect isn’t quite as visceral and angry as they’d maybe like it to be. But it is that much catchier.

Further tracks like the title track and “No Last Words” introduce a very poppy, folky kind of melodic sensibility that only a Finnish band could do, and as a result, have hooks that will NEVER COME OUT OF YOUR HEAD. “Backstabber” is heavy as fuck and sports a mean, screaming vocal performance and some scorching riffs – awesome shit. One thing I really appreciate about this band is their totally rebellious, punky, old-school rock n’ roll attitude, as they are loud, proud, crude and rude on every track on this thing. They get more reflective in places, as on “No Last Words” or the epic “Vortex,” but the variety adds a pinch of originality that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. On the heavier songs they exude an unruly, relentlessly badass attitude that makes the whole thing awesome.

The problem, and why I can’t rate this higher, is the fact that it’s inconsistent…even with only eight tracks, about half of them fall short of the high quality of the others. “Widow Maker” has some cool guitar lines, but a weak chorus, and goes on a bit too long, and “Going Out for Good” isn’t very memorable. “Broken Wings” is a decent closer and has a good hook or two, but it’s just too short and leaves you wanting more. There are some great tunes on this album but also a lot that don’t really hit the mark, and as a result the thing feels stunted and uneven at times. If there were more songs this wouldn’t be so prominent, but on an eight-song album, I don’t really like this kind of unevenness between song quality.

But overall I still think Adastra is fucking cool. Corroder of Minds will certainly not corrode your mind if you listen to it…yes, I did just make that joke. If you like Tarot, check it out. If you like original, unique sounds in your mostly traditional metal, this is as spunky and offbeat as you need. If you like riffs, this album has ‘em in spades. Just don’t expect the most consistent listen. As is, Adastra is cool and Corroder of Minds is cool. Check it out.