When Soulmaker’s 5 track EP Obsession dropped through my letter box, I couldn’t for the life of me remember putting my name forward to review it. Once heard, I would have bitten the hand off of anyone trying to take it from me. I went into this blind and deaf to anything to do with Soulmaker, just took it out the case, slammed it into my player sat back and was vigorously abused aurally by the opposing forces getting fired out my speakers. The music is as heavy as a great big heavy thing offset by the soothing, melodic vocals that are like a mother’s kiss on a skinned knee. But, as what usually follows the mother’s kiss; the sting and pain of the iodine, in this case it is the inhuman, evil below of a tortured soul. Frontwoman Marina Viotti is the owner of this diverse vocal arsenal that also covers down ‘n’ durty Rawk, leather lunged hollers and a variety of other oral outpourings that can have you soothed and mellowed one minute and have you quaking behind the sofa the next. I originally thought that it was one of her fellow band-members doing the ‘Evil’ backing vocals, but the album cover says Marina Viotti : All Vocals; so there you go! I’m not normally one to go gaa-gaa over a vocalist (Matt Barlow joining Pyrameze excepted) but whoa, c’mon she fuckin’ rocks!!!

Okay, droolin’ fan-boy moment over. Obviously Soulmaker is more than just Marina and to compliment such vocal talent the musicianship has to be equally awesome; and by Satan is it ever! Guitarists Salva and Sébastien Tchoryk play some wicked chunky riffs, real technical with excellent harmonies and melodies. With some bands of this ilk you get some killer intros that fade off into mediocre songs, but not here, oh no! The intros to these songs start as they mean to go on; except on Requiem For A Creep and Masque De Verre which have you thinking “Oh, mellow.” until it feels like they unleash the sonic equivalent of the Hounds Of Hell! The intro to the track Les Mouches and some other parts throughout the track suggest a Children Of Bodom influence, however, I gave up trying to figure out what other influences I could find preferring to accept the sound as Soulmaker’s own. No doubt there will be those amongst you readers who will say they are a rip-off of this band or another but to be honest, with the sound that Soulmaker have created, who really cares who influenced them. The nearest I can get to a description of their sound is think Nightwish on steroids and with a better singer! (Sorry Nightwish fans) Having everything mixed and mastered by Mika Jussla at Finnvox studios no doubt helped but he had to have started with some good stuff to craft the excellence that is Obsessions

The rhythm section make their presence felt with some fantastic bass lines from Samuel Salvador that punches in enough low end to vibrate your lungs out your ribcage and Nicolas Colette’s stickmanship and double bass kicking applies the power that drives things along like a charging rhino. And that is another apt way to describe their music; although fairly fast tempo the music comes across with such power it’s like the weight behind it rather than the speed that bowls you over.

As you may have sussed by now Obsessions has just blown me away! I’m normally put off by non-English lyrics but Les Mouches and Masque De Verre transcends any language barrier. Obsessions has pushed a whole load of my buttons; even some buttons that I was surprised were pushed. For an EP, Obsessions is going to spend a ridiculous amount of time on my favourites playlist and I’m gonna be watching the Soulmaker Website and their My Space site so as I don’t miss when they bring out their first full length and come anywhere near where I stay. But before that I hope to see a major label snatch them up sometime soon. Talent such as Soulmaker only comes along once in a while and Metalheads far and wide really need to hear of them. As Obsessions is an EP it cannot be awarded the ‘Album Of The Month’ Skeleton but I have no doubt that when they produce a full length ‘Album Of The Month’ will be a shoe in! Obsession can be ‘Streamed’ and purchased from the band’s website.