As I’ve said in the past, the once joyful process of discovering music has turned into a challenge for me. A challenge that sometimes can be exhausting as the metal scene is oversaturated – some genres more than others – with bazillion of bands recording, releasing and promoting their music through the power of the internet. This practise, along with piracy, has resulted in many bands not getting the attention they truly deserve until it’s too late or… never. When I took a glimpse at the cover of “A Voice Unheard” it felt like one of these cases. The message in the bottle had to be read, otherwise all would be lost forever.
The band’s core is a trio of musicians located in Sørvik, Finland, so if you thought India was a bit far-fetched you might want to reconsider. These guys have been around for more than a decade and “A Voice Unheard” is their second full-length album. As you can tell from the first second after you hit the play button, TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK music is heavily influenced by the US power/progressive metal scene of the 80’s, so fans of that era should feel “at home” while experiencing the album.
As more and more bands do these days, so did TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK and decided to handoff the vocal parts to some highly respected artists: Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR), Tony Johannessen (THUNDERBOLT) and Scott Oliva (REVERENCE). The first two guys share the load in half (11 out of 12 songs), while Scott Oliva appears only on one song. As you can imagine, this alone sets the quality standards pretty high and [IMHO] expect to not be disappointed.
Also, the fact there are three different people behind the mic helps with immersion, as there’s a lyrical concept behind this album. For that reason the band has paid attention to every tiny bit of detail and also recruited a couple of real actors for the narrative parts of the story. Listeners that indulge in conceptual albums should be prepared to dive into a world of doomsday and apocalypse, a world the band does justice with its immense songwriting.
I’m not going to break down each of the songs as this is your responsibility as a listener. What I’m going to tell you about the music though, is to expect anything from US power metal to JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN vibes (especially on vocals). Guitar work is top notch and the songwriting is what songwriting is (or should be) all about. Don’t expect me to comment on the vocals as the names dropped earlier speak for themselves.
“A Voice Unheard” requires you to dedicate more time than your typical metal album as there are lot of things to discover. Don’t sweat it. Give it some time to grow and flourish and you’ll have made the most out of it.
Before closing this one, I’d like to say one more thing and I’m asking you to forgive me for my bias:
There are bands out there that seem to be missing the point when it comes to writing and releasing music. Some of them throw us everything they have in an attempt to make a fuss over their name, but the end result doesn’t do them any justice. Then, you have bands like TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK that work tirelessly under the radar and seem to care for every tiny bit of music they put together, no matter the cost. I mean, when was the last time you some band decided to cover АРИЯ (Aria) and allocate time for it in their album?
We need more bands that adhere to what’s important: pure and unconditional love for Heavy Metal music.
