BLADE
“Joker And Clowns”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Blade are a hard rock band from Finland formed in 2020 releasing their debut album ‘Joker And Clowns’ in 2023.

If you like your rock dynamic with stadium anthems simply made for driving – then ‘Joker And Clowns’ is your perfect partner for those long summer drives in the country. For forty hard rocking minutes, the Finnish five-piece – Pepe Tamminen (vocals), Pekka Viljanen (guitar), Jaakko Paljakka (guitar), Janne Viljakainen (bass, keyboards) and Henrik Hyopponen (drums) – deliver ten infectious and catchy songs to leave you pumped! Album opener ‘Never Stop Rocking’ is a bombastic ball of electric energy to raise the happiness levels of every listener, fan and follower – the band launching their debut album with a hard rocking arena anthem!

And if you’re a fan of bands such as Def Leppard and the Scorpions, you’re just gonna love this band – and their debut album. An album that picks up pace with the hard driving melodic rocker ‘Burning Eyes’, a terrific example of how a song can involuntarily nod your head and tap your feet. The pleasure sensations oozing from ‘Burning Eyes’ is gonna plant smiles a mile wide on everyone’s face, the opening double an absolute corker! ‘Column Of Fire’ maintains the hard rock intensity of the album so far, Blade punching hard to deliver kick ass rock! Whether it be an out and out rocker, a mid tempo march or a slower stroll, the band have all bases covered. Hitting the hardest of all the songs heard so far, ‘My Demons’ features a little Aerosmith swagger as it saunters across the land saying “look at me”. And look you will, for ‘My Demons’ is so damn attractive!

Serenity descends upon the album in the shape of the mellow ‘Alone’, adopting the classic pose of a power ballad, causing listeners, fans, followers and concert goers to lift lighters high in the air and sway gently from side to side. And after the customary rock album ballad, it’s hard rock time again – ‘Hey Dude’ punching hard with enough power to flatten listeners with a single blow! But Blade don’t just deliver one blow, the band deliver multiple jabs and uppercuts, ducking and diving round the rock genre, offering different style after different style to please an ever growing fanbase. With more energy and oomph, ‘Hot And Wired’ lands with an almighty thud, pounding the ground hard and crumbling walls with its massive bombastic nature. The band are a relentless rock roller coaster, unforgiving in their quest to hammer home their “take over the world” intentions. And maybe one day they will, but right now the impact Blade have made on a worldwide audience is huge.

Title song ‘Joker And Clown’ returns the Aerosmith swagger from earlier, injecting a little more Southern rock than any other song heard so far. I said earlier the band had all bases covered with regards to multiple styles of rock – methinks I sure as hell ain’t wrong! ‘Tell Me’ features more hustle and bustle than anything else on offer, Blade maintaining their proud march around the rock genre to deliver something for everyone. The band haven’t actually pigeon-holed themselves into just the one genre of rock, keeping future development stretching in many directions. Bringing the album to a close, Blade deliver a cover of ‘Maniac’, the iconic song featured in the 1983 box office smash Flashdance starring actress Jennifer Beals in the leading role. ‘Maniac’ was written by Dennis Matkosky and its performer Michael Sembello, charting at number one for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart! Blade do a very good job with their cover version, keeping to the pace of the original, replicating its high energy level and mighty oomph.

Overall, an album of varied hard rock from every corner of the genre, ‘Joker And Clowns’ is an infectious and engaging listen.

TRACKLIST

Never Stop Rocking
Burning Eyes
Column Of Fire
My Demons
Alone
Hey Dude
Hot And Wired
Joker And Clown
Tell me
Maniac

https://bladefinland.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Bladebandfinland/

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