(Heavy Metal) [CD] Mad Hatter's Den - Welcome To The Den - 2013, WavPack (image+.cue), lossless

With a name like Mad Hatters Den, you could expect this band to be a little off the wall, but sadly they don’t deliver in that respect. However, Welcome To The Den is a fantastic slab of old-school rock with a nice modern touch to it, so you really can’t complain!

The album gets going with title track Welcome To The Den and what a welcome it is! With big strong vocals backed up with huge hooks, it’s a memorable start to the album due to its sheer catchiness, and you’ll find yourself humming along to it for days after hearing it for the first time.

Similarly, Blind Leading The Blind is a humongous track that sounds like it’s been made for a performance on an arena stage. The keyboard line is awesome on this one and it adds a lot of atmosphere to it all, especially with the fantastic solo! It really keeps the momentum going with the album and showcases the band as one that refuse to let up!

The organ at the beginning of instrumental track Legacy Of The Kings is something to behold, and there’s a whole minute of stunning playing before the rest of the band kicks in. The track as a whole just sounds wonderful and the repeated melodies littered amongst the track work well as numerous different ideas are explored. It feels like the band are showing off how talented they are with their instruments and it’s a phenomenal number you’ll keep wanting to revisit.

Welcome To The Den is a great release featuring some great musicians, and is definitely an album you’ll keep wanting to come back to.

REVIEW FROM WWW.DANGERDOG.COM:

Finland's Mad Hatter's Den arrived last year to give the Scandinavian melodic metal scene a shot in the arm. Their short EP Dark Wheel was a fine measure of classic melodic heavy and power metal, showing the band's promise. The promise is fulfilled with their first long player, Welcome to the Den.

Now, to be accurate, there are ten tracks. Of the ten, two, Shadow Lord (listen below) and The Dark Wheel, are from last year's EP. Of the rest, one is an 'Introduction,' which we can summarily dismiss. one is an instrumental, Legacy of the Kings, where keyboard player Petja Puumalainen basically shows off his fancy synth skills. It's quite impressive. The remaining songs are vocal arrangements where, once again, Taage Laiho proves he's a solid melodic metal singer, even if his lyrics are quirky and peculiar at times.

Here then is a breakdown, albeit somewhat brief, of some of the songs. One of the heaviest numbers is Stone Cold Flame which begins with a flurry of guitars and drums, and then moves into this deep toned song that reminds of mid period Dio. The title track is a blistering full-tilt power metal number with the synth layer and drums giving a bombastic color. It's also the only song that doesn't have pronounced guitar solo. Odd.

Blind Leading The Blind applies a true rock groove to the melodic metal allowing you tap your toe while you bang your head. It has a very nice guitar solo. Sinister Monologue is another tune with sharp guitars and big drums at the start, and they basically rule the song, excepting that bit of old school Hammond near the three-quarter mark. Nice. Finally, there's Journey, MHD's first real attempt at a metal anthem/ballad; it's adequate and a bit quaint with the pseudo-motivational lyrics, but I think they can do better.

And Mad Hatter's Den will likely only keep getting better based on the quality melodic metal within Welcome to the Den. Easily recommended.