The Ragged Saints
The Sound of Breaking Free

You can hardly claim that Finnish band The Ragged Saints comes up with anything fresh or inventive, they don’t reinvent the musical wheel. The band looks firmly backwards to the seventies and eighties classic hardrock. I read comparisons with bands like Whitesnake or Ratt on their own website, I think countrymen of King Company is a pretty decent comparison as well – let’s just say that the majority bands in the hardrock bracket works fine to compare with.

The Sound of Breaking Free is a reissue of their debut that was released in 2013, they have done one more album since then, a 2020 release. I like the cover on this one, it explains very clearly what we can expect from the album, there will be no surprises here. A dozen classic rockers with catchy choruses, a sense of déjà vu, and some desire to sing along with what you hear. Easy to like, and probably great for the stage as you learn the songs in a few seconds.

The album itself is good, enjoyable to listen to, and especially if you use it in the background like white noise or however you use music. A good album to use when driving, at least for me as I like to listen to more energetic songs when driving, it is easier to stay awake then. So, it clearly works well, but don’t expect to hear anything unexpected or to be surprised as the album offers nothing that feels exciting and fresh – it didn’t do it in 2013 and since then there has been hundreds more of these albums. While this may be one of the finer of these albums, it still isn’t interesting or good enough to stand out.

Another one of those albums that will drown in the infinite oceans that is the word of music today. If you are a nostalgic fellow who likes the Whitesnakes, Ratts, and whatever else they are called of the world you will find this one very agreeable as it presses all the right buttons. If you are looking for something at least slightly original you should look elsewhere.

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