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Averlanche – Life’s Phenomenon

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Averlanche - Life's Phenomenon

Averlanche - Life's Phenomenon
3.3

Rating

 3.3/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Great musicians and great voices
  • May sing in three languages

Flyctory.com Cons

  • The songs are just too similar in this debut album.

If you are thinking about moving to Finland, but feel afraid of the (indeed strange) language – maybe it is worth to have a look into the band history of Averlanche: the Helsinki-based melodic metal band is lead by singer Rebecca Spörl – which is indeed a strange name for a Finnish person. Spörl is in fact German and moved to Finland some six years ago. Life’s Phenomenon, the band’s debut album has been released on 6th November 2020 – and also includes some Finnish words.

 

Averlanche – About The Artists

The Band Averlanche has been found in March 2017 in Helsinki. The lead singer, as said above is German Rebecca Spörl, who moved to Tampere to study music. For the band, she commuted between the two major cities (some 170 km) once a week. The other band members are Antti Kopra (keyboard), bass player Joonas Hämäläinen, Otto Haalahti (guitar) and Antti Pätsi on the drums. Spörl is nowadays fluent in Finnish as well so that you also have some Finnish lyrics in the album. Due to the ability to play in different languages, Averlanche also had a bilingual release of their debut single. While the Life’s Phenomenon album features the English version, The Sounds of Insomnia, there is also a version with German lyrics, Klang der Schlaflosigkeit, which is a literal translation of the title.

 

Averlanche – Life’s Phenomenon – Track by Track

The Averlanche debut album features eleven tracks and lasts 33 minutes. Two tracks are interlude tracks in Finnish. There is also a version with (German) bonus tracks.

1. Kuvittelematta

I will not go too deep into the two Finnish interlude tracks. I just know a bunch of Finnish words – and, honestly, Kuvittelematta does not belong to them. Google translate states thtat it means something like “Not imagined”.

2. Imagined Nothing

The band is referring to HIM and Nightwish on their website and in interviews – and indeed, the first song on the album has a touch of legendary Tarja Turunen and her former. Spörl is very present in the tracks, acts with a crystal-clear voice and thus really feels to aim for the top rankings in the Melodic Metal Olymp from the very beginning. Great song.

3. The Diamond Hills

On the one hand, The Diamond Hills feels to be a bit quicker than the song before – on the other hand, the instruments feel to be a bit more damped so that there is (even) more space for Spörl to present her voice and the story of the song. The result: a bit of a softer sound, compared to Imagined Nothing, but also a wider range of note in which the lead singer can work. Beautiful sound.

4. The Sounds of Insomnia

Is it over yet? After some two minutes, the band’s debut single makes a short break – and just feels too early to stop listening to this song already, which goes with a similar sound than the two tracks before. Good selection to promote the band with that track.

5. Circus

Circus sounds very similar to the songs before – it has some additional character by the spoken word bridge (in Finnish). Unfortunately, it is also differernt to me as I feel it is significantly harder to understand the lyrics in this track. Apart from that, another very solid track.

6. Hate

I feel it is now time to introduce some new sounds to the album. Indeed, Hate is harder and quicker again. Antti Pätsi is having a tougher time here to give the appropriate rhythm. The more powerful guitars however interfere with Spörl’s voice, which is unfortunately the trade-off you just have to take. The song comes with some nice, quiet moments as well. Good one.

7. Flowers

After a quite uptempo metal track, the Scandinavians are giving us Flowers for our hearts. Call it a metal ballad or a soft rocker – I feel it is just lovely when the song is more centric around the vocals. Beautiful.

8. The Machinery of Life

Metalheads would never give in that they are best in ballds – thus, it’s time to let the guitars roar again for the Machinery of Life. The song is exactly like I feel the band is best: Fast tracks, but enough space for Spörl to dominate with her vocals. One of the best tracks of the album to me.

9. Rakastuneet

The second interlude track. Might be easier for people with basic knowledge of the Scandinavian language – the track is called “In Love”.

10. Archives of Love

Life’s Phenomenon is giving a clear definition of the Averlance sound. I just feel that the songs could be more versatile. The Archives of Love are rather on the soft side of the album. Overall, I however feel that the track is not really adding something to the story of that album.

11. Ghost

At the end of the album, Ghost gives the musicians some more space to present their skills, while the vocals are much more in the background compared to the other songs. That’s like the highest level of deviation you may expect from that album.

 

Averlanche – Life’s Phenomenon – Spotify

Here is the Spotify widget to Life’s Phenomenon:

 

Averlanche – Life’s Phenomenon – My View

I feel Averlance are great. There is just quite a bunch of potential in this Finnish-German project. The first tracks of the album already give a clear statement that Averlanche are good instrumentalists as well can rely on the strong vocal powers of their lead singer. What this band still needs is some more creativity and self-confidence in song writing. Apart from the ballad Flowers, the quintet just does not feel to move far away from their comfort zone. Try more sounds, dare to be hard, soft, dare to sing Finnish or German – it will bring you much closer to what you can ideally achieve.

 

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