ALBUM REVIEW: Unchained – Thy Row

With freedom days and travel bans being lifted, liberation is finally coming to us. This release is beginning to shine through with music’s latest offerings. Keen to show us their unbound nature, Helsinki’s THY ROW release their debut full-length, Unchained, this Friday.

Unchained offers ten tracks of traditional heavy metal, and arrives hot on the heels of the band’s 2019 self titled EP. Opener Road Goes On sets the tone for THY ROW to insert themselves into the heavy metal scene. Feel good rock ‘n’ roll vibes fizz through the dual guitar intro. “Raise your glass” proclaims vocalist Mikael Salo, determined to get the party started. With anthemic choruses laced with a seductive groove, the influence of DEE SNIDER and JUDAS PRIEST are obvious. This foundation is a solid start for THY ROW, yet leaves them open to becoming middle of the road.

Muddiness comes in with The Round. Blasted with a wall of guitars and huge drums from Johan Blomberg, we’re teased with a fast relentless rock song. As the track develops however, the riffs slow the momentum in the verses while the vocals slow it further still. This lapse in pacing judgment means there are no clear definitions between verse and chorus. Revving into a solo tries to pick up the slack with its speed, but it comes across as style over substance.

Rolling into the title track and Horizons, we’re left underwhelmed. A BLACK SABBATH style riff runs through Unchained’s instrumental. An upbeat tune about being released from a cage, Unchained powers towards the chorus but the punch doesn’t land. The slower Horizons strips back the ballsy façade but against leaves us wanting more. THY ROW attempt to execute the less is more approach with simple verses pushing into epic choruses but it’s lacklustre.

With this in mind, the second half of the record builds on the foundations of Road Goes On. Just Fine does well to set the pace early on. The guitar riffs here hold both melody and crunch which is executed perfectly. Salo’s vocals are much punchier. While this peters out in the chorus, the anthemic nature more than balances the scale.

Unchained closes with a trilogy called The Downfall. Doing this requires a clear story which is lacking in this instance. The first two parts, Killing All Inside and Beyond Reason respectively, are dark and maniacal. Full of delicious riffs, these heavy hitters are where THY ROW’s strengths lie. This momentum then grinds to a halt with closing Fragments Of Memory. The melodies on show here are good, but leaves Unchained firmly in the middle of the road.

THY ROW had the metal world at their feet and it could have been theirs for the taking. Unfortunately, Unchained somehow feels restrained. THY ROW don’t feel truly free. This band is stood on the precipice of something great for them, but they stopped just short of making the jump.

Rating: 6/10

Unchained is set for release on September 24th via Rockshots Records.

Like THY ROW on Facebook.