Sinishtra – The Broad And Beaten Way

Rockshots Records     release: 15 May 2020

SINISTHRA from Finland have been around since 1999. (The name SINISTHRA derives from the Italian word sinistra, meaning “the left side”.) The band released their debut album in 2005 which received a lot of attention and praise… then the singer decided to help out another band at the mike…. this other band was Amorphis and the rest is Rock/Metal history… Because this other band took so much of Tomi’s time, it’s only now that he could get together with his old band mates for their second album. “The Broad And Beaten Way” indeed…

I might not be the only one who noticed this band and this album because of Tomi. And as it turns out, this should not be the only reason why you should listen to Sinishtra. Excellent song writing, and although you could construct a link to Amorphis considering a melody or two, the main connection is Tomi’s unique voice. On this album he remains in the velvet department, fitting the Sinishtra sound: A lot of Prog-Rock in 1970-style or even Pop-Rock instead of Kalevala and Metal. Pink Floyd or Barclay James Harvest come to mind. However, Sinishtra sound modern and typically Finnish: melancholic-atmospheric, smooth epic ballads and the occasional Jazz input, in between those heavy guitars and riffs to make hard-rockers happy too.  Simply beautiful music.

PS: Music by Markku Mäkinen, vocal lines by Tomi Joutsen, lyrics by Erkki Virta which never use the words “love” and “death” on purpose.

Bandwebsite: Facebook.com/Sinisthra

Tracklist:
1. Eterne (4:19)
2. Closely Guarded Distance (13:10)
3. Halfway To Somewhere Else (7:43)
4. Morning Frail (5:56)
5. Safe In The Arms of The Everlasting Now (7:26)
6. Ephemeral (4:05)

SINISTHRA are:
Tomi Joutsen – Vocals
Markku Mäkinen – Guitar
Erkki Virta – Drums
Timo Vainio – Keyboards
Marko Välimäki – Guitar
Janne Telen – Bass