Santtu Niemelä – Mountain Of Fear (2021)

Posted on December 29, 2021 by chrishammond54 in Music Review // 0 Comments

Santtu Niemelä – Mountain Of Fear (2021)
Record Label- Independent (unsigned)
Style- Power and Progressive

Tracklist

01 – To Glory – 0:37
02 – Stay Wild – 4:00
03 – Good & Evil – 6:11
04 – Sacred Halls – 3:59
05 – The Ghost Of Babylon – 4:23
06 – Chosen One – 4:48
07 – Loyal To None – 2:11
08 – Mountain Of Fear – 5:21
09 – Fight For Freedom – 2:36
10 – Seven Angels – 5:53
11 – War Eternal – 4:01

Santtu Niemelä is the brainchild of Santtu Niemelä (Santtu “Skulldozer” Niemelä). He is from Finland and has been playing the guitar since age 7. His biggest influences are bands like Running Wild, Judas Priest, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Dio, Manowar, Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P, Twisted Sister, Hammerfall, King Diamond and Stratovarius.

Some guitar players that influence his playing are Yngwie Malmsteen, Gary Moore, Rolf Kasparek, Andy LaRocque, Kai Hansen, Timo Tolkki, Francis Goya, K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton, Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, Janick Gers

Santtu Niemelä has only been around since 2016 (as this band), but Santtu “Skulldozer” Niemelä as a musician has played in many different bands and even released cover songs throughout the years. On this new album Mountain Of Fear the guitar playing is outstanding throughout. Power Metal elements and arrangements are very evident. The vocals are pretty decent and very reminiscent of Running Wild’s style on 1987’s Under Jolly Roger. This style became known as pirate metal. Essentially, this is an album that begs the listeners to sing along and be joyful.

Some of the stronger songs musically and lyrically include Stay Wild, Loyal to None, and Seven Angels. The album as a whole is a fun listen, although stronger vocals will improve the musicality throughout. Santtu Niemelä is a very strong independent band and given more time they will gain a wider following. This is a very decent selection of songs and shows the band is willing to put in the work and know their metal history.