Album Review: MUSTA PARAATI - Black Parade

01. Animosity
02. Nacht Der Untoten
03. The Leader
04. Aujourd'hui
05. Chopsticks
06. The Race Is On
07. Radio
08. Digital Twin
09. Reaper
10. Today
11. If I Die Tomorrow

Musta Paraati is a Post Punk band from Finland who've recently reformed, but with a new lead singer as the original guy died back in 1993. I understand that they were very popular and hugely influential in their home country, but I have to admit that I hadn't heard of them before. This is only their third studio album, and their first in 36 years. It's also their first one in English. Before reviewing this new record, I had a listen to their early material. It sounded to me like a mix of Killing Joke and The Clash. Very cool indeed!

What first drew my attention to Musta Paraati is that their new lead singer is none other than Jyrki 69 of The 69 Eyes, which is one of my favourite bands. He's certainly prolific at the moment, as he released his debut solo record last year (read my review here), and apparently there's a new, recently completed 69 Eyes album due out in early 2019.

Black Parade is a great Goth album. It has elements of 80's Hard Rock mixed in with Post-Punk and Synthwave, giving it a retro vibe whilst maintaining a dark, sexy-but-menacing, overall tone. Anyone who's already a fan of projects involving Jyrki will no doubt love this too. His vocal style is very different to that of the band's original singer, which may divide fans of Musta Paraati's earlier work. However, I think Jyrki's voice suits the music perfectly. Incidentally, the band still sound very similar instrumentally to how they sounded back in the mid-eighties. I'm really happy that they kept things as they are instead of trying to modernise their sound.

For me, the standout tracks on here are Radio, Chopsticks, Reaper, and Nacht Der Untoten. To be honest, it took me a couple of plays to get into Black Parade, as the songs have subtle hooks, and lots of them. It's not a record full of Pop singles, but one of those albums where your ears pick up on something new with each listen, and before you know it, you're addicted.