This Finnish band should have called themselves ‘Children of Ronin’. They blend symphonic power metal with death vocals and – here’s something new – classical Japanese music. It’s like Children of Bodom meets The Last Samurai, and their debut release, Thousand Swords, is one of the most fresh and exciting albums I’ve heard in awhile.

After the rousing, cinematic intro, Whispered charges into battle with the epic title track. Galloping guitars on the frontlines, backed up by ranks of stringed Japanese instruments and screaming choirs – and then the bloodshed really begins, with a monstrous, churning riff that’s like a whirling blur of samurai blades. The Children of Bodom influence here is unmistakable – in fact, it’s a pretty spot-on imitation, except for the fact that Whispered have crafted an experience here that’s more bombastic and unique than anything Alexi Laiho and company have been able to do for a long time.

Follow-up “Faceless” is another excellent track, one of my favorites on the album. Thrashy riffs churn over a percussive Japanese stringed rhythm, with a snarling vocal performance that sounds like every boss battle from Onimusha Warlords come to life. My favorite moment comes halfway through, where traditional Japanese music swells up and envelops you like cherry blossoms swirling on the breeze. Big nod to Perttu Vänskä (of symphonic/grind duo Fist in Fetus) for his work on the Japanese instrumentation and the album’s production – it all sounds amazing.

“Of Honor” and “Fear Never Within” are similar samurai melodeath/thrash attacks (Norther and Kalmah come to mind), while an epic like “Wrath of Heaven” returns to the galloping power metal rhythms of Thousand Swords. Whispered also slow down for more meditative moments on the album’s two longest cuts, “Dead Cold Inside” and the epic closer, “Blade in the Snow.” “Snow” is particularly notable for its reliance on a Japanese-sounding theme for its main guitar melody – something I would have loved to have heard more of throughout some of the other tracks, which would have just been traditional melodeath/thrash if you stripped out the Japanese orchestration.

Just to echo that further, there are plenty of moments throughout Thousand Swords that really aren’t Japanese at all – too many fiddle-dee-dee keyboard solos that could have come right off a Warmen or Symphony X release. I would have much rather the band filled those interludes with more Japanese symphonics and instrumentation, as those moments are the more memorable on the album.

And one more nitpick while I’m at it: Why Whispered? Doesn’t exactly communicate the band’s Japanese shtick. Neither did their original name, Zealot. Personally I think a name like Katana, Shuriken, Shogun or even just Ronin would have been much cooler and evocative.

Still, none of this is any reason to commit seppuku over – Thousand Swords is still a tremendously entertaining album, and I’ve been playing the crap out of it. Undoubtedly, a big part of this is because The Last Samurai and Okami are two of my favorite movie/videogame scores of all time, but it’s also because Whispered have delivered something new and novel. Yes, neoclassical noodling mixed with power metal may not be fresh anymore, but the transportive, triumphant Japanese angle certainly makes it so. And for that, Whispered are to be honored.

[Visit the band's website]

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