Band:	To/Die/For
Album:	Wounds Wide Open
Style:	Suomi metal
Release date:	October 04, 2006
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Intro - Sorrow
02. Wicked Circle
03. Guilt Ridden State
04. Like Never Before
05. Under A Velvet Sky
06. Scar Diary
07. New Heaven
08. The Quiet Room
09. Liquid Lies
10. (I Just) Want You [Ozzy Osbourne cover]
11. Sorrow Remains
12. In Solitude [acoustic version] [japanese bonus]

To/Die/For, my beloved Finnish dudes that i've been following since their beginning and had the luck to see live the previous year, managed to return during 2006 with their 5th work up to date, "Wounds Wide Open"! "IV" was an apocalypse of melancholic and esoteric emotions and to tell the truth i didn't know what to expect this time, To/Die/For though offered their most mature work of their career up to date, taking their sound at new levels of maturity and intensity.

"Wounds Wide Open" is the most appropriate title for such an emotional piece of art, the compositions bleed with bittersweet melancholy, an element To/Die/For always had since the dawn of their existence, something they will always keep as their most beautiful characteristic, i hope! Jape Peratalo and the rest of the To/Die/For guys did once again their miracle and expressed everything in the most ideal way, taking care of every single detail and presenting perfection through their very own personal sound! I talked about maturity of sound above, well, yes, i totally believe this and something that played a major role on this factor has to be the fact that the line-up since "IV" has remained the same, which means the band-members got to know each other better and worked on a higher level of communication this time.

"Wounds Wide Open" is their most guitar-driven release up to date and the guitars have the first role in the overall attempt rocking the hell out of you, offering some really fabulous and well-expressed solos that are obvious through the whole duration of the album along with the heavily distorted riffing and the acoustic guitar chords! The drumming sounds very imposing at times, making the adrenaline at specific parts of some songs flow, but generally yeah, the rhythm section sounds pretty strong and interprets its role really well, blending with the atmosphere of the songs in the correct tempo in an unerring way. As for the keyboard/piano parts, they are always rewarding to the ears of the listener, emotional, floating like crystalized tears in the melancholically burdened atmosphere; at times they tend to sound slightly more symphonic, like in the beginning of "Wicked Circle" and the ending of "Scar Diary", an interesting addition if i may say! Talking about additions, the use of some female vocals is always welcome (like on "Liquid Dies"), especially when they are beautiful-sounding and they pace with the sound of the band and the song in which they partake, just like in To/Die/For's occasion! Jape sounds more mature than ever. Whether he sounds deeply saddened or ecstatic and intense he never fails to interpret his beautiful lyrics in the most appropriate way, his heart-rending way of presenting his lyrics to the audience has always been the trademark of To/Die/For's sound, a beautiful voice to dress the compositions with the missing link to perfection.

To/Die/For always had something with cover songs and this time they worked on an Ozzy Osbourne's renowned ballad, "I Just Want You", keeping the original air of the composition yet managing to add their distinctive sound in it. As for highlights, "Wounds Wide Open" is a highlight itself, a scarlet diamond, pacing with the colors of the beautiful cover, but if you want me to mention some really strong moments, then with the hand on the place where the heart lies, i will mention the melancholic and intense "Wicked Circle", the heart-rending "Under A Velvet Sky" and "New Heaven" and the most appropriate and doleful ending "Sorrow Remains".

Fans of the melancholic metal scene whose origin comes from Finland shouldn't skip to check "Wounds Wide Open" (along with Entwine's "Fatal Design" and Shamrain's "Deeper Into The Night" for 2006), it's an album you're going to love if To/Die/For means a lot to you!