As deserving of recognition as the classical instruments are, Hevein is blessed with talented musicians at every position. Of special note are drummer Alpo Oksaharju, whose prowess can be overshadowed by the prominence of the guitars and strings, and Juha Immonen, whose aggressive vocals are excellent, falling somewhere between a growl and a scream. There may not be a lot of variety in the sounds he makes but there is in his technique, which alternates between roars, shouts, and "singing." I adore his guttural explosions in the latter part of "Bleed the Day." But I'm not in love with all of the clean vocals on the album, which are provided by guitarist Leif Hedström. The somewhat low, sometimes raspy "normal" voice heard primarily in verses is very pleasing, whereas the strained, higher singing in most of the choruses is far less mature-sounding, like something you'd hear in an 80's teenage new wave band. Lacking almost any nuance, it suffers in comparison to the other vocals and seems out of place in such sophisticated musical surroundings.

Hevein's skillful fusion of metal and symphonic elements is most exciting when all the instruments work in unison to create a heavy sonic force, as in "Worth Fighting For" where they synchronously form a pounding rhythm. Moments like this, in some instances with less concentration but comparable power, abound on the album and should win over even the most inveterate metal-and-classical-don't-mix proponents. When the strings act more independently, the results are also impressive. "Beg to Differ" is a showcase for the cello and violin, which propel the rhythm, contribute dramatic solos, and embellish the heavy guitar riffing with both fluid and staccato bowing.

The merging of aggression and beauty is accomplished equally well in the way styles are combined within songs, usually with one or another emphasized, and always in a flowing manner. This is not the case with the album as a whole, though. Through the first three tracks momentum is maintained perfectly, but afterwards there are a couple of letups, one being the sequencing of "As Far as the Eye Can See" and "Only Human," two of the predominantly quiet songs on the album. Each is a strong one, but together they create a lull. Of course, it's not impossible to place slow, soft tracks back to back, but these are too similar in mood, and they follow the sedate ending of "iOta." Another low-energy spot is the instrumental "New Hope," which has an acoustic guitar straight out of Dinosaur Jr. and sounds like background music for a sappy tv show. Besides being rather uninteresting, it does not provide an effective lead-in for "Last Drop of Innocence," whose haunting opening would be more powerful if preceded by a contrasting, heavy sound.

Of all Hevein's distinctive qualities, the most peculiar is their penchant for (mostly American) English-language clichés. There are, by my count, about twenty-five different ones on the album, plus an additional five or six marginal examples. Sometimes two occur in a single line, as in "Break Out the Hammers" ("Don't fence me in; your walls are paper-thin.") and "iOta" ("Seeing is believing. It's the small things that count."). OK, so the latter substitutes "count" for "matter," but that's "six of one, half a dozen of the other," as Hevein might say. For some reason I find this oddly charming, maybe because with the stunning frequency of these phrases, their usage tilts from staleness to shtick: another quirk amongst many that make Hevein one of the most intriguing bands to emerge in recent years. Heaviness and melodic beauty are a potent combination, but one that too often receives unimaginative treatment. That is certainly not the case with Hevein, whose bridging of that polarity is refreshing and geared for endless variations. I would like to see them lose a little of their refinement and sweetness, but am looking forward to any direction their genre-bending ways take them.

written by Maud

Playing time: 44.49