XIII - Helltongue

XIII is a Finnish metal band based in the Helsinki metropolitan area. They were founded in the early 2000’s by Kristian Juuso and Petteri Lammassaari and this is their debut album. Musically they include elements from groove metal bands such as Pantera but there is also a little bit of something for thrash and hardcore metal fans. While the music is plenty heavy enough with lots going on, these guys are definitely let down by the vocals. They are not melodic enough yet at the same time aren’t gruff enough, so fall into an area where the guy probably ends up with a sore throat but without much to show for it. There are some definite elements of Machine Head here and the guitarists are incredibly tight but while this is an extremely solid album there isn’t really enough going on to lift it to the next level.