Katra
The Beast Within
by Taliesin Govannon

Other bands, however, shock the living hell out of you right out of the gate. In fact, the first thing you do after hearing them is check their history on the net...you're sure that you're hearing an under-appreciated pro who's finally stuck their head above water. When you discover that yes, this really IS their first or second release, you listen in awe, because if the band is this good NOW, just imagine after they get some seasoning under their belt!

Of course, it could go the other way...they could be a band who has peaked early, and this is as good as it will ever get.

With Katra's full-length debut, however, I doubt that the latter scenario is likely, because the band is filled with seasoned pros who have finally gelled in a collaboration that impresses now, and leaves the listener with high hopes for the future.

One thing that strikes the listener early is how vocalist Katra Solopuro, though capable of incredible high notes, doesn't abuse her range, instead serenading the listener with a sultry alto croon, saving the high notes for punctuation (which makes them all the more awesome). Instead of showing everything she can do in every song, she lets the music breathe, to fantastic results. And when she does go for the high notes...unbelievable! Ms. Solopuro has style, personality, and a distinctiveness to her voice that's all-too-often missing in today's cookie-cutter metal factories.

One also gets the feeling that the rest of the band members...guitarist Kristian Kangasniemi, Bassist Johannes Tolonen, Keyboardist Jani Wilund, and Drummer Jaakko Järvensivu...have the capability to be far, far more brutal in their playing than they show, and their restraint says volumes. These are *musicians*, with a lot more to say than your avarage headbanger.

For sheer musicianship, the album's songwriting highlight has to be Mist Of Dawn, a tender, haunting melody that wouldn't be out of place in an Andrew Lloyd Webber production...until the end, when it rocks with an intense, yet still mystically transcendent fury. For those who thought that only Nightwith could blend pathos, melody, and passion with precision and grace, think again!

In an increasingly over-crowded field of Symphonic/Gothic Female-fronted Power Metal, Katra stands heads and shoulders above the rest! This could easily be their fifth album, with the musicianship and sheer songwriting ability they present. Welcome to the band of the fuiture...the Heathen Hippy gives it 5 rising stars!

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