With bands such as
Nightingale helping melodic heavy metal cross over to top the national charts, Finland's new wave of metal bands is stretching the genre's commercial boundaries in ways not seen since the American hair metal craze of the late '80s. Among the many acts pushing the envelope of "acceptability" is
To/Die/For, whose carefree embrace of the major chord will no doubt have many die-hard metal fans reaching for their studded belts -- while simultaneously converting countless unsuspecting pop fans to the band's cause. Offering a disturbingly well-behaved and consumer-friendly set of keyboard-driven hard rockers, 2002's
Jaded is in essence a modern AOR album, with liberal doses of '80s fluff (think
Europe) thrown in for extra-saccharin results. Add to this a shockingly guilt-free cover of
Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight" and photos of pretty boys mugging and pouting like
Faster Pussycat, and chances are this band will probably be huge with exactly the wrong crowd. Say goodbye to heavy metal and hello to teen-band stardom, boys. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia