Beast in Black is a new power metal band from Finland and the fact that their debut album, Berserker, landed them a contract with Nuclear Blast should give you some idea of the talent and polish you can expect. With bands like Conquest, Battle Beast and Crosswind on the band members' resumes, you won't be surprised to hear the lush keyboard melodies and catchy choruses on tracks like "Blind and Frozen" and "End of the World," but you may be a little surprised at how heavy and bombastic songs like "Beast in Black" and the awesomely titled "Zodd the Immortal" are. Beast in Black seems to have set out to combine the sounds of bands like Nightwish and Bloodbound and have done a remarkably good job. There are a few head-scratchers like the electronic-infused "Crazy, Mad, Insane" which sounds like an Erasure song or the keyboard riff borrowed from Europe's The Final Countdown on "Hell for All Eternity." Both cuts are still heavy and fit in with the rest of the album, which is consistently good from start to finish. Berserker is a varied record that successfully blends styles and the result is thoroughly enjoyable.
