Recently I reviewed a couple of Finnish hardcore releases and all of them were given relatively high scores. Bolt’s new full length album Behind Obstacles Lies Truth is an album that is by far Finland’s best when it comes to hardcore music though. These five guys from Helsinki have managed to put 12 years of steady progress into one killer record.

 

This solid album consists of metallic, New York Hardcore inspired songs with now and then some guest vocals, samples or a melodic twist. The band has tried to make an album that’s full of hope, but also added a darker side to the whole. This intention worked out really well and tattoo artist Tomi of Legacy Tattoo created some artwork that fits the band’s style perfect. Personal favorite track is the last song on the album, ‘Forever Dedicated’. In this song Bolt succeeds to mix all its best elements into a nice piece of art.

 

The album doesn’t bring anything new to the hardcore scene, but in this case that’s all right. They just sound as you would hope a band would sound if you’re putting on a metallic hardcore album. Fans from this genre can therefore pick this release up blindly.