Blind Channel - Painstream [UK Import]

Big riffs and bigger choruses power Painstream, the sixth album from Blind Channel, presented here as a UK import LP.

The Finnish band have built a devoted following on a sound that crashes nu metal, metalcore and pop together without apology, and their turn at Eurovision in 2021 introduced them to a far wider crowd. Painstream finds them in the producer's chair for themselves, aiming squarely for cinematic scale, with heavy riffs and wide-open soundscapes to match.

The record's central idea is surprisingly tender: pain is the one thing everyone shares, so perhaps it can pull people together rather than apart. That thread runs through all twelve songs, from the cathedral-sized opener Messiah, which grapples with faith and fear, to the closing Ache.

Along the way, Diana pairs crunching guitars with a message about how quickly people tear each other down, and Into The Void, featuring Aaron Pauley of Of Mice & Men, casts an uneasy eye on humanity's future. The production is huge, but the hooks stay front and centre.

Fast, heavy and loaded with hooks without losing its heart, it is the kind of modern metal record that works as well through headphones as it does in a packed arena.