For The Imperium. Now what kind of a name is that supposed to be? It is nondescript is what it is.

Much the same goes for these young Finns' music. Trying to describe it, first you must ditch most conventional subgenres of rock music from the equation. Yet at the same time, there's probably something from every last one of them on this album. Now c'mon, man, you say. Everything's been done already. Yeah, I know. Most of the stuff that combines every kind of music an average punter can imagine, is nowadays called ”post-hardcore”. A nice tag to be sure, but it says nothing (except that the ”hardcore” part reveals that the singer can't really sing). Well, none of that matters, most of the bands under that banner suck anyway. For The Imperium easily transcends ALL that crap. In fact, comparing any of the post-hardcore bands of today with For The Imperium is like comparing horse manure and mind-altering drugs. While the comparison may be plenty interesting, it sure doesn't quite work.

Listening to For The Imperium is like watching a master illusionist. From one track to another, the sleight of hand just sort of happens leaving the listener to collect his jaw from the floor. Just when you think the fearsome foursome has shown you their last trick, another rabbit jumps from the hat; another unexpected musical direction, a super-humanly catchy hookline, a baffling instrumental part or one more weird voice from the soundbox of the vocalist whose vocal output seems to out-flex most Olympic female gymnasts. And that's just half the story. With their unorthodox usage of e.g. acoustic guitars and static, they even take a stab at rewriting the rule book of songwriting.

On For The Imperium's eponymous debut CD your ears will come across everything from extreme metal to cinematic music to emotional post-rock to the catchiest pop in recent memory. Often rolled into the same song. Yet all this chaos makes a strange kind of sense, much thanks to the band's unprecedented level of musical vision. There aren't too many similarities between songs, or even between parts of the same song for that matter, except for the band's mind-boggling musical chops and virtuosic arrangements like of which you've probably never heard before. You'll surprise yourself by humming along to something you first thought didn't make any sense. But this is the catchiest chaos ever. Musical mayhem in overdrive.

To make a long story short (most of you lazy bastards aren't reading anymore anyway) For The Imperium's musical animal is impossible to dissect with words. Besides, writing about music is exactly as useful as baking about architecture anyway.

Suffices to say just put most of the rock music you've ever heard in a blender. Add some of what you've never even imagined and spice it up with a crazy level of musicianship and hit the button. Let the mixture stand for a scant 40 minutes and what you've got, is greatness. Consume with your ears and prepare to be blown away.