This is a reissued, retitled version of BF's well received but naffly titled debut album '
False Metal' (2006).
It is now more appropriately titled
'Breakout', and has been reissued by Spinefarm / Universal in the UK to capitalise on the momentum gained by the recent follow up album,
'Heart Full Of Fire'.
The original tracklist has been augmented by 4 bonus tracks, including a video made for the release of single '
One Single Breath'. More on those bonus tracks later.
In the liner notes, vocalist and songwriter, Pekko Ansio Heino asserts that for this debut, the band wanted "to recapture the sound of the classic albums they grew up listening to".
Blue Tears, Van Halen,
Survivor and their eighties' peer group being the obvious reference points.
All those eighties'
AOR strands, suspended in aspic all these years, have been pulled free by BF and woven together into a new, fresh, exhilarating album of skilfully written melodic rock songs.
Although Tomppa Nikolainen's distinctive, high stepping keyboard sound is a vital ingredient in the mix, this debut is much more guitar oriented than the follow up.
As a result it is a harder, heavier set of songs, albeit with a strong
AOR emphasis.
Chest beating, stuff strutting stadium rock like '
Devils Daughter' and '
Midnite Queen' mix comfortably with stylish
FM Radio throwbacks like
'I'm On Fire' and '
Valerie'.
Further on, '
Lover Tonite' and
'Kill City Kid' are undeniable heavier rock tracks, suggesting that during BF's trawl of their eighties' heroes, they picked up a few
Rainbow /
Deep Purple influences.
That said, the blatantly Van Hagar-esque '
One Single Breath', circa '
5150' has to be the pick of the bunch. It has a beautifully crafted verse, and the sinuous hook has a surprisingly adult resonance. A sign of things to come on
'Heart Full Of Fire'.
The first of the four bonus tracks is a cover of Mark Spiro's and Harold Faltermeyer's
'Mighty Wings'. Cheap Tricks's version appears on the 'Top Gun' soundtrack.
Along with the previously unreleased cover of Dio's '
Hungry For Heaven' and an acoustic version of
'Love Goes Down', these are genuine, top quality bonuses.
'
Breakout - Collector's Edition' indeed. Go for it.
Written by
Brian Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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