By opening with an absolutely thunderous drum part, ‘The Grave Vacation’ by Mourning Wood instantly grabs the attention. Then, with the addition of a jagged rhythm guitar, the band powers forth with a huge sound that places the best aspects of 80s metal into a slightly more contemporary arrangement that shows off their sense of force with some instantly classic riffs.

With the bulk of the track fusing a very melodic 80s sound with a density that comes a little closer to melodic Euro metal – lending a definite Scandinavian feel – the music remains strong throughout. There’s a brief wobble when a vocal arrives that initially doesn’t seem to fit. Taking a clean approach instead of the expected growly/melodic death tones often associated with Finnish acts, the accented delivery seems a little at odds with the relatively melodic backdrop, but given time to adjust, this too shows off the band’s Scandinavian origins rather effectively.

By the time the chorus rolls around, the band’s use of harmonies to balance out their heavy edge reinforces their melodic metal chops, and the featured hook is huge. It’s at this point that, if you have any liking for the Mourning Wood sound at all, that this single will ultimately win you over. Despite the vocal reaching for some huge notes and the aforementioned harmonies doing some very heavy lifting in the melodic stakes, it’s still the track’s guitar work that remains its strongest asset. With a mix of strong 80s twin leads and soaring melodies, the musicians serve up some brilliant trad metal fare, to give the performance a pleasingly big sound.

By the time the song ends, it has a quality that feels familiar, and in a scene that often leads towards the more extreme, the old school chops definitely show Mourning Wood as being one of the more confident Finnish bands to tap into more of a “classic” metal sound.

The band’s debut album ‘Murder of Crows’ is released today.
Check out the new single below.