SoulHealer are a Melodic Metal Band from Kajaani, Finland. The band consists of Jori Kär ki, Vocals, Lari Lämpsä, Bass, Kai Vainionpää, Drums, JiiPee Haikola, Guitar and Teemu Kuosmanen, Guitar.

Over the last three four decades, since the Eighties, Finland has become a dominant force within the Rock and Metal scene, as the country has produce some amazing bands, and one of them is SoulHealer. When I was putting my radio show together a couple of months ago, I put on SoulHealer’s Up From The Ashes album, I was immediately struck by how good these guys are, so I had to play them on the show. Now that I have gotten around to write this review, I am still struck at how good they are.

As I sat down to listen to the Up From The Ashes album, a couple of months ago, my initial thoughts were, Damn, these guys are good, and when I came to listen to the album again, those initial thoughts are still right. As you might think, I was excited to listen to the album again.

Tracklisting: Up From The Ashes, Through Fire And Ice, Fly Away, Sins Of My Father, Prepare For War, Pitch Black, The Final Judgment, Behind Close Doors, Am I In Hell and Land Of The Free.

The first song is the title track, Up From The Ashes, this song is a brilliant opener for the album, as it sets up brilliant and it is the song made me a fan of the band instantly, especially with its opening riffs, powerful drumming, and strong vocals and they continue throughout the song. Up next is Through Fire And Ice and this is another that starts off strong and continues through the song, I like the vocals this song as it blends perfectly with the music from the rest of the band, and there is some sweet riffs from the guitarists. and the drumming is brilliant. Fly Away is next, this is another strong song from the band, overall, Fly Away is a well crafted, song that I truly enjoyed, with its soaring riffs, melodic drumming and powerful vocals.

Up next is Sins Of My Father, this starts off slow, but when the guitars and drums kick in, with the heavy melodic pace, I liked it, as it sets the song up when the vocals come, as they blend amazingly with the pace, also there is, like in the previous tracks, some cool riffs, which compliment the song overall. Prepare For War is another brilliant track, as this has some brilliant vocals and drumming, the guitars are good as they remind me somewhat of Iron Maiden’s later stuff. Pitch Black is a really cool song, and this is one of my favourites off the album, as it has some really cool guitars and riffs, the drumming is on point and the vocals are brilliant.

The Final Judgement is next, its starts off with some awesome guitars and riffs, when the drums kick in, they work brilliantly with each other, and they continue throughout the song, this song has that soaring vibe to it, with the vocals which I enjoyed, this has a Iron Maiden vibe to it on certain parts of the song. Behind Closed Doors is next, for me this song has a slightly darker vibe to the previous songs, especially in the vocals, it could be that it is the subject matter that the vocalist is singing about, also the music has that darker edge to it. Am I In Hell is up next, this song has a much faster pace to it, which is really cool, the vocals are on point, and I like the guitars on this track and the song is fast becoming a firm favourite of mine, as it has some sweet riffs throughout the song.

Land Of The Free is the last track off the album, and like the rest of the tracks on it, it is a really strong song, everything on this track is powerful, from the vocals, to the guitars, to the drumming. this is another favourite of mine. In the near future, SoulHealer will be the feature artist on the Project Metal Across The Pond radio show, as I will play the Up From The Ashes in full on The Album Of Week segment on the show.

Well, what I can say about SoulHealer and their album Up From The Ashes, this is one strongest albums that I have heard this year, because from start to finish, it kept me engaged from the very first note to the last and it kept me wanting more from the band. If you are into the Melodic Metal or Metal genre in general, I highly recommend that you go and check SoulHealer out on their Facebook page, as they are really good.

I would give SoulHealer and their Up From The Ashes a 5 out of 5, for a totally engaging album, that left me wanting more.

Project Metal Music