Hype Beast

Based out of the hard rock-rich Finnish capital city, Helsinki's Battle Beast specializes in no-holds-barred, mace to the face, vintage European power metal. Originally formed in 2008, the band underwent a few lineup changes before settling on guitarists Anton Kabanen and Juuso Soinio, drummer Pyry Vikki, bass player Eero Sipilä, keyboard player Janne Björkroth, and powerhouse female vocalist Nitte Valo. They inked a record deal with Finnish label Hype Records in 2010 and issued their debut album, Steel, the following year. The record did well regionally, and eventually caught the ear of Nuclear Blast, which reissued the album internationally in 2012.

Winter in July can be a strange combination. Released in May of 2001, but seeing hype and sales in June and July, Chris Clark's Clarence Park is a frostingly cold glimpse at what winter feels like – even if one listens to it during the dog days of relentless sun. Big reverberated beats transform into a crisp sound experiment, synth washes cut and skate alongside and in between breakbeat scientology, and sound sculpture paints imagery of glacier-like masses floating along in the sea minding their own business. Albeit not sounding especially original, and having an immense amount of pressure to do so, Clark turns in a fine debut of sensitive and cerebrally brash material that sits comfortably alongside some of the better records of 2001.