Hailing from Tampere, Finland, Miss Vain is a Five-piece Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band with a penchant for melodic styling. The vocals are delivered with grit and determination over shifting rhythms. Originally formed as a Pop Rock act, the first two members recruited members with different ideas, creating what you hear now, a heavier tone with catchy hooks and radio-accessible riffs. The uplifting piano in the background keeps the tunes lighter while the guitars drive the heavy, creating a hybrid sound that will surely cross boundaries and grab ears from more than one fanbase!

https://missvain.bandcamp.com

Band Members:

  • Mikko Vilkman – Vocals
  • Eetu Halttunen – Bass
  • Kasperi Kinnunen – Guitar
  • Anssi Liikanen – Guitar
  • Sasu Haveri – Drums

August 11, 2023  https://www.inverse.fi/

Tracklist:

  1. One to Burn
  2. All the Same
  3. Leap of Failed
  4. Song of Solitude

Crocus Biflorus is a four-song EP that will make you wish it was a full-length album. The opening track, “One To Burn,” begins with some nicely distorted guitars and an excellent Hard Rock rhythm before everything drops and the vocals come in over a subdued guitar line. This is radio-friendly rock from Finland that has catchy hooks and fantastic shifts in tempo that draw the listener in, making them wonder what is coming next. The drop for a short piano interlude fits beautifully into the song and is a great lead into the melodic guitar solo. I wish you could find music like this on mainstream rock radio in America.

Following that killer lead track is “All The Same,” another temperate rocker that uses killer guitar tones to set Miss Vain apart from many of their contemporaries. Everything works together well on this track and the EP as a whole. This one has an interesting message, “In the dark, we’re all the same.” The song speaks of colors fading away and has an undertone of being anti-racism, though there is also a sense that we are all capable of the same internal darkness. The clean vocals blended with some gritty scowls seem to push that difference in interpretation. It gives the song a bit of a “Jekyll And Hyde” feeling that I’m pretty drawn to.

Next is “Leap Of Failed,” a quirky rocker with some excellent drumming. The bass stays solid, supporting the entire track both when coupled to the drums and when it just runs under the entire mass of sound produced by drums and guitars. The guitar solo that takes us to a bridge, where we hear some fry vocals, then shifts to the end phrasing is one of the more unique compositional pieces on the disc. The execution of that entire section is very well done, showing another skill set the band has in their musical arsenal.

To get another taste of darkness, check out “Song Of Solitude.” The guitar work at the start of the song has an eerie quality to it. In the second section of this tone, the vocals enter with a haunted feel and even more darkness. The track does not stay in that tone the whole time, instead shifting to a bigger, bolder sound with all instruments hitting hard, a clear offset to the melodic darkness. This is the song I think best exemplifies the Miss Vain sound overall. There is heavy, dark, complex, and intricate all mixed in with a few moments of lighter, hopeful sound. This song has a bit of everything and really describes the band and all of their influences in one dynamic track.

Miss Vain manages to straddle the lines of several genres and styles, crossing over from Pop to Hard Rock and throwing in shades of Heavy and Death Metal (those growls!) to keep things fresh and dark. There is a lot to like on this EP and I hope they keep going. I’d be thrilled to have a full LP from them in the future.

MZ Ratings:

Musicianship:

  •             Guitars – 10
  •             Rhythms – 10
  •             Vocals – 9
  • Songwriting – 9
  • Production – 9

Overall – 9.40