Suburban Tribe is one of the most interesting groups emerging from Finland. Already from the beginning I regarded this group highly, and thought that they had both talent and potential for success abroad. This group has always had a style of their own, though they are clearly influenced by some popular groups such as Korn. Their new album is titled as iRevolt Now! and I can't but wonder if the title is meant to be taken as a prophecy - is this group finally going to break... well I, for one, had my hopes up and wished for a great album... but got disappointed in the end.

After listening to this record on and off for few weeks, I came to a conclusion that this album is both a step forward as well as a step backward for this group. The material has progressed even further without losing the appeal of their earlier releases. At the same time, the songs have gotten heavier than before. Regardless, it seems that the group doesn't manage to pull it off convincingly on all of their new songs - while some things sound very natural here, there are unfortunately parts that don't quite make it. For example, the album starts with "Complications", which is a fairly puny song. It just doesn't sound honest, instead it feels as if the group has really tried to achieve that extreme flavour to their sound (it doesn't come to them naturally). The whole song just lacks feeling. Fortunately enough the second track already shows signs of improvement with Korn-influenced intro and nasal vocals of which we've grown to recognize Ville Tuomi. Nonetheless, also this song features extreme vocals but they are now used for sporadic emphasizing, which is in my view the only way to go for Suburban Tribe. Much to my surprise I also heard signs of another Finnish group, namely Misery Inc., on this record. One can't listen to "Ad Infinitum" without recalling Misery Inc.'s latest album "Random End", mostly because of the vocal parts.

Production on this album is quite apt, though I'm not that fond of Svante Forsback's mastering. Regardless, the sounds on iRevolt Now! are fairly balanced and suiting for the material. Overall, Suburban Tribe's latest effort shows some signs of getting into a rut - I wish the band would start stressing their strengths instead of introducing something that doesn't clearly fit to their music that well. As a rule of thumb the material is in dire need of catchiness, which can only be found desultorily. I would have liked to hear more songs like "The Time Is Now", which is without a doubt the strongest track on this album... sure the time is now, but I think it's the time for getting a grip on reality, and making the best effort possible, since this only seems to be a half-hearted attempt.

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- MAGE (June 7th, 2006)

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LINE-UP:
Tuomi, Ville: Vocals, Jews Harp on "Carved in Silence" Sirén, Roope: Guitar Joutsenniemi, Janne: Bass, Keyboards Hirst-gee, Alec: Drums with Rake: Keyboards - Children on "Nevermore" - Adina Charlotte Christa Esme Joanna Maria Nina Tuulikki Zoe
Producer:	Rake
Mixing by:	Rake
Mastering by:	Forsback, Svante

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Complications 02. Nothingness 03. Nevermore 04. Bound By Grace 05. You Can't Break What's Already Broken 06. Carved in Silence 07. While the World Awaits 08. Ad Infinitum 09. Gravity 10. The Time Is Now 11. Hollow Inside Length: 44:57