STATUS MINOR – OUROBOROS 2012

Second installment of this Finnish group whose members have already spent a result, including the singer Markku Kuikka which has a long career behind him and that could be heard alongside Lars Eric Mattsson and keyboardist of Thunderstone, Jukka Karinen,here who can speak much more broadly and with finesse.

The first effort, titled “Dialog”, two years ago, revealed a group consisting of competent musicians but had trouble getting out relatively traditional influences of progressive metal, led by Symphony X and Dream Theater. “Dialog” enjoyed a good recording, arrangements, balanced between guitar and keyboards, with good melodies but also a lot of rhythm changes and parts of double pedal just agreed on these pieces of average length but a long series epic.

“Ouroboros” is a concept album based on the story of a romantic relationship … Its beginning, its development, degradation and end. References sometimes a little too visible “Dialog” are less clear here. The band announced the album as a bit more direct, but listening to songs, or rather the songs are more focused on vocal melodies and rhythms that are simpler, the battery a little less emphasized and more nuanced. The album is also less cumbersome overall. The vocal melodies, always at the center of the compositions are often quite strong, even on two beautiful ballads. Classical piano is quite far (with a very beautiful sound, for that matter) and synth orchestrations are well developed, which does not prevent Sami Saarinen to issue sharp guitar parts well, beautiful harmonies and a few very fluid solos alongside keyboardist whose playing solo is also very swift.

Yet the first three songs are always pretty fast and powerful arrangements of keyboards in spite of very audible. Rolf Pilve we Assen still some parts of double bass, syncopated rhythms and a little chopped classic but overall, the rhythm section has changed significantly and in the right direction compared to “Dialog”. The result is much more interesting especially with the ballad “Like a Dream” followed by a title in the solo piano (“Confidence and Trust”)! Markku Kuikka always uses her voice rough, serious, powerful and very well placed. Strange to want to keep the stamp frayed and sometimes roaring style as well mean a few lines of clean vocals here and there, as on “Like a dream”, proof that he has other strings to his bow. But this time he is accompanied by Anna Murphy (singer of Eluveitie), four songs performed as a duo. Clear voice and yet powerful of the latter is very welcome, offering a bit more diversity to the album.

The highlight of this album is probably the ballad “Flowers Die” and along “Sail Away” which form a whole with covers of themes from the first in the second … The melancholic atmosphere, or dark and dramatic does not prevent melodies to be very accessible.Nice idea to offer some tricky piano and slow ramp-ups … Status Minor should quickly get rid of the label Mismatched group of “power metal”. It is however unfortunate that the vocals are particularly rough on the tightest passages of this dark story (on “Stain” for example), in detail that will put off some …

1. The Wind (4:15)
2. Hollow (4:56)
3. Glass Wall (4:35)
4. Like a Dream (5:46)
5. Confidence and Trust (2:31)
6. Stain (6:32)
7. Smile (5:34)
8. Flowers Die (5:24)
9. Sail Away (10:44)

Line-up / Musicians

– Markku Kuikka / Vocals
– Sami Saarinen / Guitars
– Jukka Karinen / Keyboards
– Eero Pakkanen / Bass
– Rolf Pilve / Drums

Releases information

LMC321 on Lion Music, release date 4/25/2012

Total Time: 57:20

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