Review: “Purple-Born” by Born In The Purple

Formed in 2023 by the four horsemen of the apocalypse, Born In The Purple hail from Finland and claim Melodic Death Metal as the genre in which they partake. Citing influence as far apart as the Gothenburg sound of 2003 that inspired the first wave of American Metalcore as well as orchestral works, they recorded and mixed their debut EP “Purple-Born” in house. Mastered by Svante Forsbäck (Barricada, Elvenking, Swallow The Sun) at Chartmakers in Helsinki Finland, the four tracks mark the first endeavours of bassist and vocalist Eemi Vanhala and drummer Jarkko Puljujärvi alongside guitarist duo Juho Lalli (ex-Meatgrinder, ex-War Enslavement) and Teemu Linkola (Havengarth, ex-Pave the Path), the later of whom also provides vocals…

Intertwining harsh unclean vocals and clean ones almost line by line helps gives opening cut “Born In The Purple” a distinctive sound, going against the grain of Melodic Death Metal guitars that at times border on Power Metal with their elegant rise and fall. What’s interesting about this one is that there is also the air of nostalgia about the sound, harking back to “The End of Heartache” from Killswitch Engage with some of its stylings, having that same soaring beauty in the melody and crushing power in the rhythm section. Second cut “Running” echoes the sentiment with an distorted guitars and vibrant leads, the hard hitting death growled vocals the heaviest single element. Chugging rhythms give a satisfying crunch, a couple of moments of solo are a nice touch and while you’ve heard it before from the likes of In Flames, its done so well here for a first shot in anger that it bodes well for the future. An injection of more clean vocals gives “Sirens” a little more sing-a-long ability as Vanhala and Linkola warn sailors of death on the rocks having been bewitched by a sweet voice that soothes away your sorrow. This one feels like it was written with chemical enhancement by orchestration in mind and you can easily feel that the band could go down that path in the future if they so desired. They have the vision and song writing abilities to make it happen. A rampage closer to Death Metal than anything else, “Hereditary” warns of the darkness of War with a fierce intensity, broken only by a couple of moments of majestic lead guitars in the final moments. A blistering affair that leaves fretboards smouldering and hands blistered and bleeding, this final cut feels a couple of shades heavier than the earlier cuts, as if there is a greater emotional bond with it to drag out a darker performance… [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Born In The Purple
2. Running
3. Sirens
4. Hereditary

“Purple-Born” by Born In The Purple is out 3rd August 2024 and is available over at bandcamp