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Reflexion is a dark rock band which hails from Finland. Home of the dark melancholic songs. The band was formed back in 1996 and played without a vocalist for a long time before they found one in Juha Kylmänen in 1997. The band was called BarbarianZ and changed their name into Reflexion in 2000. After various demo’s under both names Reflexion showed their skills with their debut album “Out of the Dark” (2006). The band showed that they know how to write dark melancholic rock songs. The single “Army of Broken Heart” reached the Finnish top 20. Now they are ready to conquer the world with their brand new album “Dead To The Past, Blind For Tomorrow”.
On this new album Juha Kylmänen (vocals) showcases his various skills in singing bitter sweet melodies to tougher choruses. The band has great songwriting skills with lyrics about daily life occurrences, spiced up with black humor and a dose of self-irony.
Mikko Uusimaa (bass) on the new album: “Within the heavier songs the lyrics are gloomier than ever before, but there are also, still some pure love songs which then are really into it. I guess it’s more like an open diary than just a relationship therapy.”
The album is produced by Aksu Hanttu (Entwine) and was recorded in three different studios. Vesa Ranta (Sentenced) took care of the artwork of the album.
The sound of the band has some similarities with Scentenced, Poisonblack and For My Pain, other bands that have their history in Oulu, Finland. A lot of songs have catchy choruses or melodies. “Twilight Child” has a nice piano intro to the track which creates a nice atmosphere. The growls on “Non-stop Glorious Ride” and “Dancing in the Air” are from Jaakko Teittinen. Which certainly adds something to these tracks. “Black is the Colour of Your Life” is a track that shows that their songs are varied. The intro is very emotional and dark and ends with a great track with a wall of guitar riffs near the end. “Just One Word (Goodbye)”has an acoustic guitar and the sweet singing of Juha makes this a great song to end the album. - Templerores Magazine
Discography
Albums:
Edge (2010)
Dead to the Past, Blind for Tomorrow (2008)
Out of the Dark (2006)
Singles:
Twilight Child (2008)
Weak and Tired (2008)
Storm (2006)
Undying Dreams (2005)
Photos
Bio
First "rehearsals"
In 1996, three young guys were practicing hard and performing to the empty walls of their rehearsal place. They were blowing off their own hard rock oriented guitar riffs as well as playing stuff from AC/DC, Metallica etc. At this time they were going without a vocalist; and without a clue that behind the walls was something, or actually someone who could fill the gap. A young guy called Juha Kylmänen was practicing in the next room and listened to the three guys playing. He really adored their playing and the first thing to enter his mind was that he must get into their band. He sang his own melodies over their riffs and just waited for the right moment to get to know these guys. Everything that Juha had learned through his brother, from such bands like Deep Purple and Whitesnake, hadn't gone down the drain.
Gotta get some action!
So Kylmänen joined the band and soon they were ready to hit the studio for the recording of their first demo tape. Nothing radical happened yet and most of the copies were sold by hand to their friends etc. During these times they played many great gigs and gained much success in their hometown Oulu, and as the years passed by a couple of other demo tapes were recorded. With quality varying from: harsh homemade productions, to tight and hard rocking material, the attention of some record companies were caught. However, the negotiations between the band and record labels led to nowhere, each member knowing that it was just a matter of time until a suitable label would turn up offering a satisfactory deal since, at that time, their musical expression and skills were constantly and radically developing.
The journey begins..
During the recording of the "Journey To Tragedy" promo tape, in 2003, the guys from A1 Music were working at the same studio. Right away, when they first listened to what the band was working on, it was clear that they noticed lots of potential was smoldering in this band. The powerful output of the band and especially the skills of their talented vocalist were the things that really worked; the band made a co-operation deal with A1 Music and after that it was time to start working seriously and unleash their talents.
Before the journey continued, some re-arrangements were made to line-up. The original keyboard player, Antti, and former bassist, Petteri, left the band at the end of 2004. Raymond knew a guy named Mikko Uusimaa and asked him to play bass in Reflexion, Mikko immediately agreed and the whole band stood behind the decision to continue with this new guy. The newborn line-up was harder than ever and more than ready for the glow of the flames.
Out of the Dark
In the beginning of 2005 the band signed a record deal with A1 Metal and started the recording of their debut album in the May of that year. Arttu Peljo and Mikko Tamminen - formerly known from the band Firevision - were chosen to produce the album. The soundscapes and background vocal parts they created became one of the characteristics of the new sound of Reflexion. The album was finished during the autumn and the first single, "Undying Dreams", was released on the 21st of September. It is a catchy song that represents the lighter side of the album, but brings out many new elements that had not earlier been heard in the band's music.
In the same year, the band played its first gigs with the new line-up as well as playing a couple of festivals in Finland. The first single gained great success and spent three weeks in the official Finnish top20 single charts. The second single, called "Storm", was released in January 2005 and on the 15th of March "Out of the dark", Reflexion's debut album, was released.
With their debut album, the Finnish dark rockers successfully managed to spread their infectious sound virus around the globe and played their first gigs outside of Finland. Their gigs in both Russia and Germany were successful and eventually proved that the past ten years hadn't been for nothing. The journey to Germany also offered a possibility to start working with their current label Mach XX, which is a sub-label of a well-known German label Out of Line.
Dead to the Past, Blind for Tomorrow
Via their brand new album "Dead to the Past, Blind for Tomorrow", the band returns again to spread the virus more widely and passionately than before, and to continue to conquest our ears. A long experience and remarkable songwriting, amalgamated with typical Finnish melancholy results in an exciting listening adventure. The band's early love for acts like Metallica, Whitesnake, and AC/DC provide a fierily rocking kick throughout the tracks whilst Kylmänen showcases his varied vocals between bittersweet toughness and wistfulness. The outcome ensnares Gothic people as much as alternative, pop or metal music listeners.
Produced by Aksu Hanttu, the album was recorded in three different cities in Finland: Oulu, Lahti and Helsinki. The first session took p
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