Concrete Icon “Voracious Streams”

Label: Memento Mori · Year: 2025

Finland has always been an intriguing place for death metal. Since the 1990s, the country has produced a wide range of bands, from old-school doomy death metal to more modern and experimental styles. The band you see above has been active since 2007, and over my long years in music journalism, a few of their albums have landed in front of me before. From what I remember, they’ve reached a fuller and more professional level in both songwriting and sound with this album. Their style isn’t exactly in line with most Finnish death metal bands—they play a cleaner-sounding death metal with high-pitched riffs and groove elements. In short, they stick to the kind of music they enjoy, though the overall sound is a bit generic.

Throughout the album, they don’t try to reinvent or redefine anything, which some listeners might misinterpret as a negative. But honestly, these guys just seem to be playing the death metal they love, and there’s nothing structurally off about their songwriting. The compositions flow well, even if the riffs are a bit generic.

If you’re into American and European death metal, you might enjoy blasting this while cursing at life—whether in your car or stuck behind a slow-moving suburban train.