Review Summary: winning
While Finland has become known for its large number of power metal bands and its death metal scene of the early 90s, there was once a sizable underground thrash scene there as well. Sadly all of these bands, even Stone who are often viewed as the front runners of Finnish thrash, remain obscure to all but devoted thrashers. Stone's 1988 self-titled debut shows how immensely talented these fellows were and how they could've become a household name like their American counterparts if they had been given just a small amount of mainstream exposure.
From the opening seconds of "Get Stoned" it's clear that Stone are a well-oiled machine. Every band member plays their instrument with great precision, which is impressive considering that three of the four members were teenagers at the time this album was recorded. The bass can be heard gently pulsating in the background of every song, and each hit on the drums and cymbals comes through crystal clear thanks to the album's masterful production. Bassist Janne Joutsenniemi also provides the vocals on all of Stone's albums. His vocals are very silly but in an awesome kind of way. He sounds like a maniac that the other band members found outside of the studio as they were recording and asked him to provide vocals on their album. Guitarists Roope and Jiri supply one memorable riff after another and their acrobatic solos contain enough whammy bar abuse to last several lifetimes. The guitar tone on this album, and really all four of Stone's albums, is something else. In a way it sounds like a cousin of
Kill Em All's tone. There is a perfect amount of chunk and you can practically hear the picks scraping as these riffs are being played.
There really is not a wasted moment on this album. Even the short instrumental take on Europe's "The Final Countdown" doesn't come across like filler, as it provides a bit of humor to the track list. It is understandable that young guitarists like Alexi Laiho were listening to this and storing the treasures of its riffs in their warhearts from an early age. How could they not when songs like "Brain Damage" and "No Commands" riff so hard? If you consider yourself a fan of riffs or if you are looking to get into thrash metal, give this album and the rest of Stone's discography a listen.
