DARK DAYS AHEAD – North Star Blues
- by Matt Coe
- Posted on 28-04-2014
What a great name for a Finnish metal band. Dark Days Ahead has been delivering their brand of dark rock/ groove metal since 2005, combining elements of death and New Orleans style sludge to make an interesting cocktail for their second album "North Star Blues". Vocalist Tony Kaikkonen has a little bit of that low Pete Steele warble when singing clean, versus a crossover thrash/death voice in the more aggressive passages- giving the slower axe swinging "Yesterday’s Noose" and the neck whipping "Between the Walls of Fire" dynamic versatility.
It is like Dark Days Ahead took cues from Sabbath, Corrosion of Conformity, and Crowbar, but put them in a blender against their Finnish heritage to create a catchy sound that’s equal parts heavy and open – check out the acoustic oriented "Last Day of Light" or 6:18 doom-licious closer "Varra" to know this isn’t your run of the mill act.
Considering this is my first exposure to the group, I would say good fortune lies ahead for this quintet.