Human Temple - Insomnia

*=Staff's pick	I'm Sorry* Goin' All The Way Dream Child* Out Of Love Desert Rain* Animal Walk Between The Shadows Judas My Brother* On A Night Like This Till' The Day I Die Forever

Genre	AOR, Melodic Rock	Janne Hurme	Vocals
Tracks	11	Jari Salo	Guitar
Runningtime	50 Min.		Guitar
Label	MTM	Harri Kinnunen	Bass
Release	21 June 2004	Petri "Hellhammer" Lehto	Drums
Country	Finland	Tony Green	Keyboards
Similar artists	Alien, Rainbow (80's)

Here I could have written some funny joke about how sleepy you get when you listen to melodic rock. But even if the genre as such doesn't kick ass, there are always some golden exceptions with really strong compositions. This is one of them.

The first three songs are all top class, with nice harmonies and catchy choruses: I'm Sorry, Going All The Way and Dream Child. Out Of Love is only a small step behind, but that may be enough to have the butter come out of your ears. After this bonebreaking start it is almost necessary to put in a soft piano ballad. And there it is, Desert Rain, like a cool shower in the burning sun. It brings to mind something about Elton John and a tearful Disney movie.

With the title Animal you come to expect a roaring beast, but this song is at the most an old, tired cat. It doesn't help much that Jani Liimatainen from Sonata Arctica adds some guitars. The weakest link on the record, together with Walk Between The Shadows, which does not have much originality as a composition.

Judas My Brother makes me happy again. It starts heavy and has some glimpses of epic power metal. It soon develops into a favorite. Janne Hurme has a voice that is planted to grow with this music. A comparison to another "schlager"-singer, who has done an AOR-record, Jan Johansen (Ignition), is not too far away. As always with those Finns, their most loved instrument, the keyboard, is always present, but not as disturbing as in bands like Children of Bodom and Nightwish. The guitar harmonies bring us over to On A Night Like This, which is another nice composition. Speaking of Nightwish, another guest artist appears on Till The Day I Die - Emppu Vuorinen. Last we are served another Elton-ballad, Forever.

Light and easy… but this is really good! Nothing for the most hardcore black metal fans of course, but if you like good music, regardless of genre, it is definitely worth the effort to check it out!

Production	Vocals	Compositions
9	8	9

Summary
9 chalices of 10 - David