“Beyond The Dark” is the latest offering from Finnish band Ancara and follows their critically acclaimed debut “The Dawn” and “The World”-EP which both came out in 2006. The first thing that strikes you about "Beyond The Dark" is the fact that the sonics are tight, clear and powerful. Cranked up loud this album will have you, and anyone else in a two mile radius, “feeling” the bands controlled power. Opening song “Circles” is a real firecracker surging along and, within seconds, you’ll be head banging away and throwing air guitar shapes. The guitars interact with fat and fruity harmony riffs; the drums drive everything along without overdoing it and the melodies duck and dive.

Next up is “Deny” a mid tempo muscular rocker which is very much from the Queensryche school of songwriting. There is plenty going on musically in the arrangement of the song but the band never get in each others way, somehow they manage to get the musical jigsaw fitting smoothly together and the end result is classy melodic hard d rock. “Snowflower” is a slow and brooding slab of music that benefits from the addition of some orchestral flourishes giving the piece a gentle intensity and tangible sense of drama. “Scarred”, on the other hand, starts in a manner more akin to Def Leppard's version of “Action”, it’s uncanny. The song itself however is a million miles away from the Sweet classic charging along as if nothing will stop the band from reaching the end. It’s commercial and very eighties but with a darker sound that keeps the song very much “in the now” and to keep the listener on their toes there is a nice sequence of guitar solos.

“Just For Me” is a radio friendly chunk of hard rock that European bands have the knack of nailing. Massed vocals and odd twists and turns in the guitar melodies just keep things above the expected. There is a feeling that this track could explode at any point but just when you think it’s going to happen it ends. “Cranium Tension” is one of those songs that would have filled rock clubs around the globe in the eighties. There is something in the melodies that has you thinking of Kiss’s “I Was Made For Loving You”. It’s nothing like that track but there is something in the way the guitars interact with the rhythms.

“When Everyone Else Is Gone” is one of the highlights here thanks to the great melodies with some nice unexpected twists and truly stellar guitar solos from Juha Wahlsten and Samuel Hjelt. “In Silence” once more incorporates orchestration to add depth and drama but somehow the song didn’t grab me. Like “Just For Me” you feels as if the song is going to erupt but the band decide to grind it into the ground instead. The album closes with two bonus tracks, namely “The World” and a live version of “Burn In Hell”. Both of these show the band in different lights,  the most startling thing being that the live track that will leave you in no doubt that Ancara go for the throat in the live environment. On the European release of the album the band have also included two videos for “Deny” and “Just For Me”, a nice touch and, combined with the bonus tracks, it all adds up to value for money.

There are many bands out there playing this brand of hard rock/metal and to stand out from the pack a band must have something special. Ancara have two things which will help them in this regard: firstly the powerful vocals of Salminen and then there's the thoughtful, and at times outrageous, twin guitar attack of Hjelt and Wahlsten. All this adds up to the fact that ”Beyond The Dark” is a solid album that is consistent from start to finish and very much a case of steady as she goes. If you are a fan of Dokken, Queensryche, Gotthard or even modern day Scorpions then you will find much on this release to please.

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Track Listing

Circles
Deny
Snowflower
Scarred
Just For Me
Cranium Tension
When Everyone Else Is Gone
In Silence
The World (full version, bonus track)
Burn In Hell (live, bonus track)
Deny (video clip)
Just For Me (video clip)

Line Up

Sammy Salminen - Vocals
Mika Rajala - Bass
Samuel Hjelt - Guitars/Vocals
Juha Wahlsten - Guitars/Vocals
Timo Rajala – drums