Piece 5: Freedom!

Alright, so we’re going to expand our horizons today.

First a brief overview:

The artist: HB

Origin: Finland

Lyrics: Finnish

Genre: Christian Melodic/Symphonic Gothic Metal

HB. Interesting name, don’t you agree? when I looked it up, I found that on their website the vocalist said:

"Actually the initials H and B don't really stand for anything. We once had a competition on our webpage, where people could suggest different meanings for the two letters. Holy Bible was one of the suggestions."

…so…I guess it doesn’t have a meaning.

Well, oh well. That’s not the main point of discussion.

The main point is to discuss how amazing this group is! I had listened to one of their songs a while back, but at the time I didn’t think much of it. I’m not sure what I was thinking, because when I re-listened to them recently, my eyes were opened. Where has this band been all my life?!

The musical style is very diverse. HB is primarily melodic power metal, but each of their songs have a different blend of middle-eastern, electronic, orchestral, operatic, blues, and/or medieval instrumentation, which gives them a very unique character. The main vocalist is a female, and I personally think female vocalists sound absolutely beautiful in heavy metal, because they bring a perfect balance to the powerful sound. And most of all, all the band’s song lyrics are Christ-centered with a different, powerful message.

Every aspect of HB makes them worthy of being called one of the best.

Now, to the song.

I thought it was a little ironic that this video says “with lyrics”, because even with them you still can’t understand a word they’re saying. Unless, of course, you’re Finnish.

And why did I choose this song? Well, because it’s awesome.

Yes, HB has many songs sung in English, but I think the Finnish lyrics are so much more expressive, and colorful, and give the music an elegant flair. Can metal even be described as elegant? Personally, I think so.

I’d like to focus mainly on the blending of vocals and instrumentation in this piece. It begins with an introduction from a very distorted lead guitar, soon followed by the pounding rhythm of the drums, and background vocals. These quickly build up (the drums more than anything), until the vocalist begins, and all the rest of the instruments quiet for a moment as she takes the lead. The first line is sung with gentleness and a softer tone, however as she continues singing you can her the strength in her voice build up with the powerful instrumentation. The complexity of the Finnish language, sung by her soft yet strong voice, and harmonized with the epic and pounding rhythm from both guitar and drums, creates a feeling of determination and power.

The melodic composition is brilliant. The emphasis placed on the vocalist’s higher notes are in perfect unison with the highly syncopated rhythm. Also, by choosing to repeat the pattern of notes over and over, it leaves a deeper impression on the listener, and is what draws the ear most of all.

I hope you all can hear and appreciate how truly complex, epic yet elegant this music is. This band truly deserves a lot of recognition!

Please let me know how you liked the music, and feel free to comment your opinions about the piece!