Freshfabrik - Finest

Hungarian exports, Freshfabrik, have spent 12 years carefully cultivating a strong reputation as one of Europe's finest hard-rock bands. A reputation that they've done all they can to destroy on new release, Finest. The guitars soar around in easy progressions. The vocals follow easy, tenacious lines through over-the-top power-pop choruses. It even finds room for some synthbass. Finest is an unabashed nu-metal album that's six years too late. Its sounds range from Spineshank to Ill Nino and back to Spineshank again. The nadir of a once strong career, it begs the question - "why?" It can't be about making money or getting famous. It can't be about artistic credibility. The only other option is irony, but Finest doesn't feel like that, at all. [Neil Ferguson]