Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Review By Tony Cannella
Finland’s Indica were discovered by Nightwish mastermind Tuomas Holopainen. Prior to this, the band have released four albums in their native Finland, which are all sung in their Finnish language. Now, newly signed to Nuclear Blast, Indica have just issued their English language debut – and fifth album overall – “A Way Away”. Indica play up-tempo music with a pop edge, combined with metal and strong orchestral elements on some songs.The opening duo of “Island of Lights” and “Precious Dark” set a very high standard for what is to follow. While the mood throughout, “A Way Away” is undoubtedly bouncy and up-tempo, there is a dark undercurrent that is also present on some songs. A good example of this is, “Children of Frost” which also happens to be one the best songs on the CD. The children singing on the chorus is a nice touch that really helps to elevate this track. “Lilja’s Lament” is a slower atmospheric ballad-ish type track, yet it still fits great with the rest of the material. There are many highlights throughout: “In Passing”, “Scissor, Paper, Rock” and “Straight and Arrow” are all stellar tracks. The final track is the 8-minute “Eerie Eden” which just has a big, epic, orchestral feel to it and it is a great way to end things. After 10-songs and 46-minutes worth of music, I came away very impressed with Indica. “A Way Away” is a great way to introduce this band to a whole new market and hopefully Indica will reap the benefits of the added exposure.
Rating – 90/100
Tracklist
- Islands of Lights
- Precious Dark
- Children of Frost
- Lilja’s Lament
- In Passing
- Scissor, Paper, Rock
- A Way Away
- Straight And Arrow
- As If
- Eerie Eden
Line Up
- Jonsu – Vocals, Violin, Guitar
- Heini – Bass, Vocals
- Sirkku – Keyboards, Vocals
- Jenny – Guitar, Vocals
- Laura – Drums
Links