Quake the Earth: We Choose to Walk This Path

This is a really strong debut album from Finland's Quake the Earth mostly because of its sturdy blend of punk-infused attitude with hard-laced metal. The band compares itself to acts like Lamb of God, Pantera, and Hatebreed on the one hand and Rage Against the Machine and Agnostic Front on the other. I can definitely hear most of those influences on this album, especially Hatebreed and Agnostic Front. I think that listeners will especially like Aki Hakkinen's vocals which are not only strong but passionate. He yells, but he does so with the power we've come to expect from bands like this. Listening to him sing was definitely a highlight for me. As for the rest of the band, they deliver a solid, very mature-sounding, performance from beginning to end. I didn't think much of the guitar solos, but I don't think this band is about flashy techniques. Instead, they simply pound forward, offering listeners attitude, anger, and power. Be sure to check out the cool buzzing quality of the guitar track on "Punainen hevonen," the mellow closing track. Who knew these guys had a sensitive side?

I was less impressed with "We Are the Enemy" a track that includes a narration by the singer wherein he talks about life giving you the middle finger and finding the strength to resist. I like the idea of standing up to life's challenges, but I found the narration to be overblown and somewhat unnecessary. The strength of the music and lyrics, I would think, could function at the same level, perhaps even giving listeners more reason to stand up and be strong. I was also disappointed with "Red and White," a fairly good song until the middle section in which the singer starts to declaim musically--not quite rapping, but not quite singing either. I have nothing against this style of singing per se but it is so obviously out of place here that it seems artificial. I'd suggest sticking with what works.

Track Listing:
1. The Predator
2. We Own the Streets
3. The Unknown
4. Finger on the Trigger
5. We Choose to Walk This Path
6. From this Day to Last Day
7. We Are the Enemy
8. Brand New Day
9. Three Mofos
10. No Man is Bigger than a Bodybag
11. Crusader
12. Mask of Deception
13. Red and White
14. Punainen hevonen

Added: November 15th 2012
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2820
Language: english

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