19 March 2024
OZ

OZ – Forced Commandments

Label: Massacre Records
Releasedate: 22-05-2020

The four decades of being are impressive for the human story and for the certain music genre as well. The Finland-based heavy metal formation OZ released the eighth album during the band’s history with saving only one original member since 1977 – Mark Ruffneck.

Heavy metal is on the air. The melody moves backward and forward in time, shifting voice and equipment’s sound in a way that helps highlights coincidence. Listeners pierce together the fragments that OZ leaves for them with masters’ legacy. Skipping the beginner move straight to Prison Of Time where guitar solo pretends to be heavy metal standard. The unique (as it’s possible) core of the record lays between number three and number five. Switchblade Alley is solid and thoughtful that leaves a remark of “what kills that flame inside?”. The dynamic Revival provides vocal limits but track is tough as the next one – The Ritual – with impressive chorus. Moving through two ballads, we stop at Liar – full of energy and power (and touch of 80s refrains). The album contains eight main songs and additional three as bonus. From this list I would recommend Diving Into The Darkness – mysterious and dark-concerned.  

Music nowadays is all about starting again and moving on. Heavy metal is a rollercoaster, which started the journey in underground then peaked mainstream, and today – it’s underground again with gained and aged audience.

Line up:

Vince Koivula – Lead Vocals
Juzzy Kangas – Guitars, Vocals
Johnny Cross – Guitars, Vocals
Peppi Peltola – Bass, Vocals
Mark Ruffneck – Drums

OZ

Tracklist
01. Goin’ Down
02. Prison Of Time
03. Switchblade Alley
04. Revival
05. The Ritual
06. Spiders
07. Long And Lonely Road
08. Liar
09. Diving Into The Darkness
10. Break Out

Links:

Official
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