Band:	To/Die/For
Album:	Samsara
Style:	Suomi metal
Release date:	December 14, 2011
Guest review by:	omjaimes

01. Kissing The Flames
02. Damned Rapture
03. Cry For Love [Iggy Pop cover]
04. Death Comes In March
05. Folie Á Deux
06. Hail Of Bullets
07. Love's A Sickness
08. Raving Hearts
09. Oblivion:Vision
10. Someday Somewhere Somehow

After an announced imminent separation, and after an unsuccessful Latin-American tour, where they have many fans including me, To/Die/For are back with a new album, a production that many of us awaited anxiously. Given the situation that the band was in, this album brought together many public expectations, it would be like a rebirth of one of the best Suomi metal bands.

Samsara, contains all those elements that have always characterized the band, a very emotional and special voice, catchy lyrics and melodies, powerful riffs that joined with the bass line and drums create this typical rock and melancholic atmosphere. But within all this, which is already known to us, some details emerge and let us distinguish some elements in this album.

Throughout the album it is possible to recognize the intention of creating atmospheres, using sound effects, atmospheric keyboards, guitar and synth echoes, even recreating the melancholy of which I spoke, many of these elements seem experimental, and fortunately do not reach the point of being very pretentious. Also, the voice has always been an essential element and in this album continues as a protagonist, its execution seems to penetrate the listener with these deep emotions. Moreover we can hear very balanced guitars with syncopated riffs, beautiful arpeggios and heavy-metal style solos; openly these features reflect an evolution. About the drums and bass I can say that are typically, holding the expected catchy rhythms.

After some reflection, I find this album interesting and a well-made experimental intention, as we noted at the end of songs like "Folie A Deux", "Love's a Sickness", and as ultimate expression in "Oblivion: Vision" or even in oriental sound parts of "Rapture Damned." These experiments seem to coordinate well with those typical highlights that certainly become quite good as the cover "Cry For Love", "Kissing the Flames" and the protest song "Hail Of Bullets".

It is known that many people listen to To/Die/For influenced by puritan prejudice, and I hope that they take a moment to assess the overall result. Samsara is not a very remarkable album, but it means the re-staging of an important band, sure to please fans of this genre.