antiMusic.com: ChILL - Artificially Alive Review

ChILL - Artificially Alive

by Kevin Wierzbicki

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Jouni "Jopo" Rantanen knows how to growl. The lead singer of ChILL uses pure vocal muscle to get his point across --- that the pursuit of fame is a nasty endeavor --- on "Recycled Unentertainment," the opening track on this 4-song EP. The song is performed as nu-metal but along with the grinding guitar there's a very melodic guitar solo; factor in Jopo's gruff, punk-tinged manifesto and you have a sort of metal that wouldn't be out of place rockin' the pub and that certainly doesn't fall into the category of what he's railing against. "Nonbeliever" is closer to straight-ahead metal and a little thrash-y, "Useless Byproducts" is right out of the grunge era and indicates the band has heard their share of Alice in Chains and Nirvana while "More Beast Than a Man," with a hellacious drum part from Mika Rautiainen, is the most inventive and impressive song on the offering. This sampler does exactly what it's supposed to: show what the band is all about and give just enough of it to leave the listener wanting more.

ChILL - Artificially Alive
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