Machine Men

Originating in Suolahti, Finland, the traditional heavy metal outfit Machine Men traces its roots to 1998, when the group formed as an Iron Maiden cover act before adopting its moniker from a track on Bruce Dickinson's well-received solo release The Chemical Wedding, issued the same year. The lasting shadow of that British heavy metal institution therefore hangs over the quintet's subsequent path, which gained real traction after two early EPs with the arrival of a self-titled EP in 2002. Frontman Toni Parviainen, whose vocal resemblance to Dickinson is strikingly precise, leads guitarists J-V Hintikka and Jani Noronen, bassist Eero Vehniäinen, and drummer Jarno Parantainen through a succession of strong full-length efforts: Scars & Wounds in 2003, Elegies in 2005, and Circus of Fools in 2007. These recordings impress in most respects, though their principal shortcoming lies in how closely they mirror the band's primary influences, a trait some listeners may regard as either derivative or complimentary. In either view, Machine Men honor their forebears by sustaining the spirit of classic heavy metal through meticulous attention to its defining characteristics.