For those of you who’ve missed out, Spinefarm is a Finnish record label that has spent the last two decades or so releasing some of the most evil, heavy, debauched rock ‘n’ roll of all time. Including such diverse artists as Children of Bodom, Backyard babies, Nightwish, Tarja and (BD favourites) Reverend Bizarre as well as a whole host of other bands of varying degrees of fame, it is almost inconceivable that a heavy metal fan will not own at least one CD on the Spinefarm imprint. For fans in the UK it became even easier to get hold of Spinefarm records (some of which had previously been a little difficult to track down) when Spinefarm UK was launched in 2007, an offshoot that has proved to be an enormous success and has also given us re-issues of some classic albums including COB’s early records and the recent spate of Swallow the Sun re-issues (on which more in another feature). In celebration of all things Spinefarm we now have this shiny, 2 disc set featuring a plethora of fine acts from across the Spinefarm roster, including a whole host of bands you may have heard of and plenty more that you may well be hearing for the first time.
Kicking off with a brutal cut from Children of Bodom’s awesome ‘Blooddrunk’ album, the compilation gets off to a flying start and, in truth; it barely lets up until the end. Label samplers invariably vary in quality, but Spinefarm are one of the few labels out there (to my mind along with Neurot, Southern Lord, Peaceville, K-scope, Nuclear Blast and Metal Mind) where poor bands are the exception rather than the rule and as a result you’ll rarely find yourself reaching for the skip control on your CD player, although Tarja’s solo offering is liable to divide opinion, and I still can’t stomach the musical travesty that is Dead by April. Highlights come thick and fast with choice offerings from five finger death punch, Ensiferum, Reverend Bizarre, Warmen and Swallow the sun standing out in particular, but with such an emphasis on quality throughout (aforementioned deviations aside) picking top tracks out of this bunch is rather like trying to pick your favourite diamond out of a pile of equally-sized gems.
Available exclusively from HMV, Boneshakers is an outstanding introduction to the world of Spinefarm. Even if you are familiar with their more famous material, you’ll still find new bands to treasure, and if you’re unfortunate enough to be entirely ignorant of the charms of bands such as the aforementioned COB, or Swallow the Sun then this low-priced 2 CD set is nothing short of essential as it offers a catalogue of excellent bands and will serve as the perfect starting point to anyone’s musical education. Whether you’re interested in power metal, death metal, hard rock or just good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll then you can’t go wrong with this collection.
Available Sept 7th from HMV
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