These six talented young men from Helsinki, Finland have a Children of Bodom-meets-Amorphis vibe going on. Maybe a bit of the last Sentenced as well in terms of the melodic approach. Really not surprising considering the influences listed in the bio echo pretty much just those influences. And six people in a band is pretty Amorphis-ish, isn't it?

I dig the juxtaposition between Jukka (man, this is 'Jukka' a popular Finnish name or what?!) Pelkonen's death growls and classically trained pianist Johannes Salo's tickling of the ivories. Kind of a beauty and the beast approach that never ceases to grab me. Salo goes from gentle piano passages to hyperkinetic keyboard frenzy. Salo's keyboards and Kasperi Heikkinen's and Tommi Leinonen's soaring and tasteful guitar work interweave, often sharing center stage and the focus of the arrangements. I have to be honest by saying the vast amount of keyboard work and sound turn me off just a little. Mostly because it reminds me of all those really over-the-top Euro power cheese hair bands. But that's my torture to bear because Elenium is not a powermetal band, and from the bio photo, there are no pirate shirts or broadswords to be found. Thank God.

We only get three songs here, but all three are melodic, amazingly complex arrangements with a multitude of melodic breaks, hyperspeed passages and a keen sense of dynamics. The makings of Century Media's next land grab? Stay tune and see.

Chris Barnes