Finland's Sammal's third album Suuliekki, continues where the critically acclaimed Myrskyvaroitus left off, not following in it's footsteps, but rather taking a turn into uncharted territory, as this was the first time the band really had to start writing from scratch, after taking a little break, from playing shows and composing. The material never comes too easy, and many ideas are thrown into the "some other project" or "this simply isn't good enough" bin. Song sketches have to sort of boil in a pot, different ingredients mix and flavours merge over time, before they can really be called songs, or compositions if you will. On this record maybe more than ever, each individual band member's musical taste takes center stage at times, without stealing the spotlight from the one thing that's always been most important to Sammal. The song! The album was in the making for a while, but only the end result matters to the band, and the results are splendid. Throw away your preconception and join Sammal on a journey through exhilarating and spontaneous, sometimes joyful, at times sad and dark musical landscapes!
