Aittala is named for Eric W. Aittala, the trio's guitarist/vocalist/songwriter. Their sophomore album, "Haunt Your Flesh," is a bit of a surprise. With the horror-inspired artwork and song titles, it presents as European Doom, but actually delivers as straightforward, simple thrash-lite, about as heavy as Alice In Chains, Godsmack, Spineshank, etc.

In spite of some limitations, there are 4.5 absolute keepers on the album. The groovy opener ‘Blackmail’, heavy track #2 ‘Holocaust’, solid title track, and gothy-creepy ‘Juliet’ are all worthy additions to your music library. Consider: there are some seminal, beloved, essential metal albums with fewer than 4.5 keepers, so my intent is not to damn with faint praise. That's a pretty good ratio for a release with 10 tracks.

The song structures and riffs are extremely simplistic, his vocal range is extremely limited, and the lyrics all dwell on such similar dark, horror-flick metaphysical territory, that one could almost believe it was a concept album. The most challenging elements of the album are reading the logo on the cover, and getting through the vocal moments when he seems to be channeling Scott Stapp. These are just warnings, however, not discouragements. Aittala do a lot with a little on "Haunt Your Flesh." I recommend that you check your brain (Alice In Chains pun intended) and give it a spin. I'm curious to see where Eric takes his music on their next album.