Finnish hard rock/melodic metallers Miss Vain are set to put out their debut EP at the end of the week. After releasing most of the tracks already, the anticipation for the collection is pretty high. Join me in checking out what it’s like!
‘One to Burn’ opens on a great, quick guitar riff, starting off the EP with a bang. It’s heavy yet accessible, reminding me of the early 2000s radio rock/metal like Rev Theory or Skillet. It drops down for the verse, providing an interesting dynamic. The vocals sound great over the top of the building instrumentation, too! It all builds to a huge, epic chorus. The subtle keys in the back added a lot to the sound, making it even catchier and arena-filling. The drop down bridge was awesome, building perfectly through the spoken word part into a phenomenal guitar solo. It was fairly simple but full of emotion and feeling, fitting the track perfectly. What an incredible way to open the EP and a great introduction to the band!
Another great, chunky riffs leads us into ‘All the Same’. However, I was a little surprised and disappointed they immediately went back to the same structure of the stripped-back, clean, lower verse. Still, that pre riff is so good that I’ll let it off. Like, one of my favourite riffs of the year, it’s that good. It definitely needed to be at least doubled in the track. At least we get it the second time! It’s another big, fun chorus, and I love the heavier second half of it A LOT. The heavy riff instead becomes a breakdown after the second chorus, somehow feeling even heavier. It’s amazing, honestly. I can see it popping off live! Then we head into a final huge chorus to finish. Despite its similarities to the previous track, I loved this a lot, and it easily makes our playlist!
The heaviness continues through ‘Leap of Failed’. The riff is another amazing one, especially when the drums join in with the chugging. The guitaring is a massive highlight of this album, reminding me a lot of the likes of Santa Cruz. The pace stays quick and aggressive this time, and we even get some harsh vocals. The heavier edge is amazing. It’s almost like a metalcore/post-hardcore track, and I love it. Then it still cleans up with an anthemic, power metal-style chorus. Miss Vain shift between the sub-genres seamlessly and blend them perfectly. The solo is awesome over the heavy riffing, sounding evil and is massively technical this time around. We then get an amazing build into a HUGE scream and breakdown. This may be my new favourite track, this is insane. I cannot praise it enough, check it out immediately. It’s already made our playlist so listen there!
The closer, ‘Song of Solitude’, is the now typical slower track to finish on. The low riff builds slowly and amazingly, feeling almost doom metal, like something Candlemass would put out. The big riff over the top also gives me huge Tool vibes. The jumping between clean guitar bits and heavy distortion almost gives the track a prog vibe. It has a dark, plodding pace throughout, which fit the lyrics and title perfectly. Even when it picks up after the second chorus, it keeps its dark attitude. That may have been helped by the harsh vocals and breakdown though, of course! It’s the perfect track to end the album with as it starts slow but ends with a huge bang. It’s epic through and through.
Overall: This was amazing. My doubts and worries of the first two tracks sounding similar were done away immediately in the second half of the EP. The band have an incredible range and such humungous talent as players and songwriters. All four tracks are amazing, and Miss Vain are going to be a huge name in the international rock and metal scene sooner rather than later. I can’t wait to hear more already, and hope a full length release is on the horizon soon!
Overall: 9/10