Album Review: Beast in Black – From Hell With Love

Beast in Black
From Hell With Love
Nuclear Blast
★★★★★

Beast in Black are back to continue their quest that began with Beserker. From Hell With Love is a brilliant heavy metal album that carries all the cliches of metal muscle to excess. The Helsinki band amplifies metal emotion and passion to new personal levels. Because of that, From Hell With Love is one of the best classic sounding metal albums I have heard in years.

We have been teased with the lyric video to “Die By The Blade” for a month now. Pairing metal and video game antics into a swarm of power and hooks that have you entranced, this song will have you hooked. From the lyrics to the synths to the soaring guitar solo, this is everything you could ever expect from a perfect metal song. It gets stuck in your head making you feel like your own superhero as muscles flex to the fist that comes crashing down to the beat.

Beast in Black – Die By The Blade (Lyric Video)

What we need is a hero. These guys come crashing through the walls ready to save rock and roll, axes in hand. Ramping up to a powerhouse performance is the opener “Cry Out For A Hero.” Acting like rock gods, this song is an adrenaline rush to the nth degree. Call up your buddies because you are going to need a crew to head bang with.

The predictability is what opens Beast in Black’s sound for the unpredictable. Pushing back to 16-bit style at the core, the synths on the title track are on steroids. When the guitars kick in, they give it that proper oomph. Yannis Papadoploulos’ vocals are versatile in the way he can dip into symphonic metal falsettos and then crank it into gear on the chorus. His voice is that of a true professional while the band adds so much strength that the reverberation is what makes From Hell With Love immortal. How can so much talent lie within? Between Kasperi Heikkinen and Anton Kabanen’s guitar work—especially with the bleeding solos on songs like “Heart of Steel”—the spectacle is for you.

Beast In Black – Sweet True Lies (Official Music Video)

Even the song, “Sweet True Lies” shows a band who can take something trendy as the traditional pop song structure and wrap it up in leather. Think of Bon Jovi or Dokken nestled within the British Wave of Heavy Metal era. As sappy as it sounds, there is no distraction from the overall aura Beast In Black present. Everything is up front and in your face.

I have never had more fun listening to a metal album. From Hell With Love is a blast!