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AFM Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 24.06.2015
Sometimes I wonder why bands do the things they do. I probably shouldn't bother. Personnel changes happen; they're a fact of life. But I thought Burning Point was pretty good as is. Yeah, sure, typical Scandi melodic heavy power metal, but I liked the last several albums. So now a new female lead singer. Hmm ...
So what was the play here for founder, guitarist, and former lead vocalist Pete Ahonen. "I'm tired of singing? Chicks in heavy metal are really cool these days, maybe even more profitable. Hey, I got an idea. We should have a female, preferably super hot, lead singer. Holy shiite, ex-Battle Beast singer Nitte Valo is in the market place." Viola! The boys in the band have a new girl friend.
So what's Ahonen's next move. He scratches his head. "Yeah, I know let's record an album with some old and new songs and introduce Valo to the Burning Point fans. I'm a freakin' genius!" Presto! Here's the self-titled Burning Point album.
It has six re-recordings of older BP songs: All The Madness, Signs of Danger, Heart of Gold, Dawn of the Ancient War, Into The Fire, and Blackened The Sun. All good choices, with the main difference being female lead vocals. Best picks: All The Madness or Signs of Danger.
The five new songs are In The Shadows, Find Your Soul, My Darkest Times, Queen Of Fire, and I've Had Enough. Too say of these, they're representative of what Burning Point does best: some epic melodic power metal infused with lots of twin guitar harmony and leads. They sound good. Notable is My Darkest Times, being dialed back slightly for a more metal anthem sound. As for Valo, she's a rather straight forward metal singer, melodic and sings clean. No growls. No screamo stuff. None of that operatic diva bullshit.
At the end of the day, the final question is simply, "Was adding a female lead vocalist to the band the best move for Burning Point?" She easily fits their sound, and their given genre. But as noted at the start, I was happy with the way things were. Maybe you were too. The fans will decide.
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At the end of the day, the final question is simply, "Was adding a female lead vocalist to the band the best move for Burning Point?" Nitte Valo easily fits their sound, and their given genre. So is the answer, yes? Listen for yourself.
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