This album came out of nowhere and it grabbed me instantly. Amoral is a Finnish band from Helsinki that play Progressive Death metal and they do it surprisingly well. Wound Creations is only their debut album after previously releasing 2 demos.

The album is very mature and professional and it’s hard to believe that it’s their debut I’m listening to. Having been recorded at the magic Finnvox studio the production is like many times before excellent. Every instrument can easily be heard and the sound is very pleasing to the ears. Amoral is quite an unique band and comparing them to another band is simply not fair. Imagine mixing Opeth, Death, Anata and Meshuggah and you might have a small clue of what they sound like. Wound Creations is a very complex and technical album. When you’re listening to the album you never know what direction the song will take. Variation and creativity are keywords here.

The 2 guitarists Ben Varon & Silver Ots have come up with plenty of creative and killer riffs, after many tempo changes and different time signatures you are suddenly hit with beautiful guitar-leads that further enhance the sound of Amoral. The drumming from Juhana Karlsson keeps things even more interesting with lots of cool fills and drum patterns. Niko Kalliojärvi’s death growls are perhaps not so unique but they get the job done well without sounding forced or over the top. Moonsorrow frontman Ville Sorvali played bass on this album but later left to concentrate on his mainband.

This album is recommended for fans of Death & Progressive metal. Amoral is a brand-new band and I hope we get to hear more of them in the future. Wound Creations is one of the best debut albums I’ve heard for a long time and it will definately be a competior for my favorite album of 2004.

[This review was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]