Sturm und Drang - Learning to rock 3.5/5
Reviewed: 11-9-07
Tracklist:
1. Broken
2. Talking to silence
3. Forever
4. Rising son
5. The raven
6. Indian
7. Learning to rock
8. Fly away
9. Mortals
10. Miseria
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From out of Finland comes a new hard rock/metal band called Sturm und Drang (meaning Storm and Stress). Formed in 2004, their debut CD was released this year and is called ‘Learning to rock’. One notable here, is the ages of these talented young musicians. These guys are 15 and 16 years old and you really wouldn’t know it by the way they sound. Looking at their band photos, they look like little kids, but they most certainly play above their age. Another notable is that their CD debuted at #3 on the Finnish music charts.
In Finland, Sturm und Drang are signed with HMC (Helsinki Music Company), but recently they have signed a European deal with GUN Records. Touring in mainly Finland and Sweden, Sturm und Drang have since toured most of Europe, supporting Apocalyptica.
Writing the music was Patrick Linman, father of Andre Linman, who is the vocalist and guitarist. Lending his creativity to most of the lyrics was Mats Perssons, with also the father and son Linman’s also having a part in writing the lyrics.
With influences ranging from The Scorpions, Judas Priest, Dio and even Sonata Arctica, just to name a few, Sturm und Drang’s direction seems to be reviving the 80s hair metal scene, something that was around before any of them were even born.
Musically, they sound very good. For such young kids, they certainly are rather talented musicians. Andre Linman’s vocals do sound young (and with a somewhat thick Finnish accent), but he has a lot of emotion behind them plus he has many years ahead of him to tinker and improve his vocals.
As for the CD, ‘Learning to rock’, there is certainly one thing which remains the same throughout and that is the bottom line: they are having the time of their lives and loving every minute of it. The word fun is splashed all over this CD when listening to it. These kids are just doing what they love best and that is what makes this CD as good as it is. Playing just as they would in a garage, their impressive talent shine through and they play without a care in the world... and they play well.
I find the best tracks to be “Talking to silence”, which is a rockin’ let loose track with a ripping solo; the typically 80s “Rising son”, with a memorable chorus and which they also made a video clip for. Then comes the slower “Indian”, where you hear Linman’s vocals at their best; the soaring, foot-taping ‘Fly away’ with another red hot solo; and finally the power ballad to finish the CD, “Miseria”.
These 5 young kids have certainly paved their way for a very bright future in the music scene. With musicianship and skill to rival most veteran metal bands, I predict that we will be hearing a lot more of Sturm und Drang in years to come. With only a couple of improvements needed (slight tinkering of vocals and better songwriting skills), I can only imagine how far this young band can go. Even their live cover of Iron Maiden’s “Fear of the dark”, which you can currently see on youtube.com, is just more proof of how talented they are.
Sturm und Drang are most certainly living the dream. Great job!
SEAN
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