Album reviews

Invitation

Suomi Finland Perkele / Finland
Vaikka musiikki ei olekaan suorituslaji eikä kilpailua, niin nyt tulee kyllä muille suomalaisille hardrock-orkestereille tukkaan niin, että lähtee paitsi hilse, myös hiusjuuret ja päänahka. Snakegod ei ole trendikäs, se ei nykystandardien mukaan ole kaupallinen eikä suomalaisen metalliyleisön mielestä varmaankaan kovin "in", mutta viimeistään nyt on melodisen metallin ja hardrockin ystävien aika nostaa se toinenkin jalka haudoistaan, sillä sitten Tarotin ei Härmäniemellä ole yhtään Snakegodin tasoista traditionaalisen hardrockin/hevin pumppua päätään kellarista nostanut. Jos ette nyt herää, jäätte paitsi jotain todellakin huomaamisen arvoista. Snakegodissa toimii kaikki - sekä yhteen- että kunkin musikantin henkilökohtainen soitanto on ammattitaitoista, melodiat kantavia, biisit tarttuvia ja kaiken kruunaa Jari Tiuran enemmän kuin vahva ääni, joka ei Suomen metallihistoriassa jää kakkoseksi kuin puolijumala Marco Hietalalle. Jos hänellekään. Missä nämä jätkät ovat piilotelleet?!?! Ja missä helvetissä on oikean hevin yleisö?? Hevijäärät - kauppaan ja heti!!!
9-/10

Unbrokenmetal / Germany
The Finns deliver here a sensational debut! One could believe that this is the 5th or 6th album of a mature band, which is already in business for ten years. "Invitation" is a melodic Fantasy-album, going in a similar direction like SKYLARK, but much more professional and colourful. Who thinks that RAINBOW's "Rising" is the best LP of all times, must test Snakegod. Late-70s- keyboards and female backing vocals maybe make it appear a little too "commercial" for Metalfans, but such a great feeling for good riffs combined with a goose skin atmosphere, like for example in "Divine High Priestess" are hard to find. The actual reason for buying it was of course, as I have to admit to my disgrace(?), again the shabby-metal-cover: chains, skulls, monsters, pleasure slave.... If you don't care about that, try my audio suggestions: "Don't Rescue Her" or "Snakebite", for example.
8.5/10

Suburban / Benelux
Snakegod’s "Invitation" definitely is a real invitation which is destined to become a landmark album in the consciousness of a Melodic Metal world hungry for something musically extraordinary. This Finnish bombastic wall of sound is built upon the solid rhythm section of drummer Kari Lahtinen and bassist Petri Repo, completed with the multi-talented guitarist Marko Ruokonen, finger-nimbled keyboardist Jani HöIIi and the powerful melodic voice of vocalist Jari Tiura. With songs like "Time And Again", "Defender", "Behind The Storm", "Snakebite", "Evil Woman" or "Lost In Time" it’s very obvious we’re dealing here with one of the better debut-albums in the new millennium. Extravagant guitar riffs, outstanding solos, impressive arrangements and a singer whose energy brings the songs to the boiling point, all this can be found in the perfectly mixed sound of Snakegod, undoubtedly one of the hottest and most important Finnish Melodic Metal bands of our time. Don’t let the ‘not that very impressive’ artwork on the CD-cover be a deception, because what musically is all behind it, definitely is impressive, the album is just genius. Classic melodies like RAINBOW or WHITESNAKE at their best, high-speed soli that would honour every YNGWIE MALMSTEEN album and a sound that really kicks ass. True Melodic Metal fans in the world can trust on the work of these five snakegods from Finland and their brand-new debut masterpiece "Invitation".

Schweres Metall / Germany
Snakegod from Finland are for me one of the surprises and absolute insider-tips of the Melodic Metal-sector of this month, even though their debut album is already a 3/4 year old - but unfortunately it landed only now in my CD player. Don't let yourself impress by the childish cover, on which the band had no influence - usually the label MTM-Music knows how to make better covers than this one. You also shouldn't take the former and superficial album review from no.173 of the nowadays Nu-Metal orientated Hard Rock-Magazine too seriously. Because first of all, who counts Whitesnake's "1987" and Rainbows "Rising" to his alltime-favourites, will also love Snakegod! ´ With Jari Tiura they have an absolute voice-miracle in their band, who sounds like a mix of Ronnie James Dio and Michael Sadler (Saga), and who refines every song by the gold of his throat. Already the great opener "Another part of Heaven" shows what is going on here: Powerful, majestic vocals land on a sound-carpet of highly melodic but still heavy guitar playing by Marko Ruokonen, greatly used keyboards and a strong rhythm section. "Don't Rescue Her" turned out a real hit, followed by the brisk "Defender", which reminds me of the strongest moments of Stratovarius. But outstripping everything is "Divine High Priestess", which I already now consider to be one of the greatest Melodic Metal songs I have heard over the last years! Like this I could continue adoring until the end of the CD, but I think that by now every fan of this genre has tasted enough blood to get this perl called "Invitation" immediately, and add it to his CD-collection. Bands like Snakegod which continue to play in the style of the above mentioned bands are worth more than gold!
9/10

Rock It
Very good, lively Power Metal offers the Finnish newcomer band Snakegod with their debut album Invitation", which sounds more than convincing in every way. Besides the powerful production which is absolutely necessary for this style of music, and the colourful songs which never get boring, especially shouter Jari Tiura and his musicians know how to convince. They sound astonishing mature, considering that this is their first work. Many of the songs are in an up-tempo, for example the very hit-like opener "Another part of heaven". But also the intensively used keyboard of Jani Hölli should be a guarantee that AOR fans could warm up extremely for this piece of work. Further song hints are for example the Majestic-similar track "Defender", the two-piece "King of the dream/Invitation", and the grooving "Snakebite", in which dominate heavy guitars. Resume: It can be attested that Snakegod achieved with their debut album a more than convincing work. More of it, please!
5/6

Hell Awaits / Spain
Really, I don't know who has made the cover for these Finns, but it deserves that they shoot that person. Nevertheless, there is something in it which reminds me to a certain scene of Conan the Barbarian, which is a motivator, at least. Musically, this Heavy can be defined as Melodic Metal with virtuous guitars like Whitesnake or Rainbow, grazing at some moments the Heavy Rock of The Cult. But in spite of a recalling of classical Heavy Metal, they don't sound out-of-date, because they have epic passages and keyboard parts like many present-day Power Metal bands, among which are their country-fellows Sonata Arctica. And I dare to affirm that this singer has a better voice than Tony Kakko, in fact, he actually reminds me of Candlemass, or rather of the peculiar mixture of Heavy Metal and "Candlemass Metal" that Twisted Tower Dire plays, and not only by his style to sing but also partly by the music, specially in the 4th song "Behind the Storm". Who knows, perhaps we are facing here the debut of the new promise of Heavy Metal.
Moreover, ballads aren't missing and neither are the typical blonde long-haired and cute band members to delight the girls whose criteria to buy records relies on the pics of the musicians in the booklet.
5/6