A masterpiece.

Finland's Power Metal band Burning Point's latest release is the first studio album to feature ex-Battle Beast vocalist Nitte Valo, who joined BP in 2014. It sees her adding a new dimension to their sound with her distinctive vocal delivery and sees a return to a more aggressive style which was apparent on their releases early on in their career.

'Master Them All' launches proceedings with its Symphonic guitar intro and moves at break-neck speed whilst retaining an explosive catchiness to the track. Pete Ahonen and Pekka Kolivuori's guitar parts twist and wind around each other before locking into a powerhouse heavy rhythm. This is, perhaps, one of the best tracks on the album. Introducing an element of pomp and melody with its keyboard parts and followed by a heavy riff is 'The Time Has Come' and it works really well. The riff for 'Incarnation' has a passing resemblance to Ozzy Osbourne's (or Overland's!) 'Shot In The Dark' and the more you listen to Valo's voice, the more it brings back memories of a certain Ronnie James Dio. 'The Lie', which is less Metal and more Hard Rock, really brings this home and that's no bad thing!

All the songs found here, apart from one (which we will get to shortly) are penned by Ahonen. His ability to inject energy and feeling and reel in the audience is a true gift. He even adds a Neo-Classical touch to 'Dark Winged Angel' which is in stark contrast to the Dark Metal fury of 'Chaos Rising'. The album closer, which although not written by Ahonen has, no doubt, been arranged by him, sees the Lee Aaron classic 'Metal Queen' get the BP touch and reaches melting point! Keyboard padding meets dark chorused vocals in between Valo's no holds barred vocal performance and stunning guitar solos. A risky song to do justice to but they've succeeded!

Burning Point have produced a masterpiece here, one which manages to be fresh whilst using musical soundscapes that link to the best of Rock and Metal heritage. All tracks can stand up on their own and the album will surely see them gaining new fans as Valo's voice weaves its spell.

Paul Sabin