Artwork by: Tapio Wilska

Style: Industrial Metal, Melodic Metalcore, Trance Metal (Mixed Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Lordi, Hanzel und Gretyl, Turmion Kätilöt
Country: Finland
Release date: 9 January 2026

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I’m the dark pop metal guy, apparently. While that may be a negative to some, or perhaps a guilty pleasure to be kept hidden away lest your cool friends think less of you, I have no such qualms when it comes to ousting myself via enjoyment of bands like Bad Omens, Sleep Token, Spiritbox, and Voyager. After all, I do love myself a big anthemic chorus and infectious melodies—and the more synths you can squeeze in alongside the chugs and double bass, the better. Being such, I’m generally the first turned to when something poppy (not that Poppy) lands in our collective laps. So when the clarion call sounded to review Fear of Domination’s latest album, Katharsis, naturally, I answered.

Katharsis marks Fear of Domination’s seventh throwdown, continuing a largely consistent release schedule across their seventeen years that hints at a confidence in their creative output. But veteran status only counts for so much, and being my first time with the band, Katharsis may as well be a debut. And while I do enjoy testing the limits of my lactose intolerance, there comes a point where even I’ve had too much cheese—and no other genre besides power metal may be subject to my picky eating than metal’s pop offshoots. So, the question, then: can Fear of Domination whisk me off my feet with their dance-y rhythms, starlit 80s synths and big sing-along choruses? Or will I be standing arms crossed on the sidelines, eyeing the exit?

Almost immediately, Katharsis establishes its aim for catchy, metal-infused pop bangers with tracks like “Alone” and “Dead Anyway”, which mingle pace-setting, hard-hitting drumwork and aggro riffs with big soaring choruses courtesy of vocalists Saku Solin and Jessica Salmi, all backlit by attention-grabbing synths that spiral and sparkle with a colorful vivacity across much of Katharsis’ runtime. Solin’s harshes are perfectly suited to the material, straddling the line between ferocious and friendly in the delivery—designed to motivate rather than massacre, as it were. On the opposite side, Salmi’s cleans operate with a calm power not unlike Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel (“Dead Anyway”); even when she’s pushing into higher territories à la “Monsters”, it never feels like she’s losing control, and the way she wends melody through both choruses and verses taps into a vein of infectiousness that’s hard to deny.

The album stumbles early with “Imposter,” however, the track losing its footing mostly due to a cheesy opening line¹ and kitschy staccato groove that felt like the first tendrils of a gimmick threading through the otherwise entertaining preceding three tracks. The band’s penchant for theatricality doesn’t dissuade this slithering thought, either—this is where I get into my cut-off for cheesiness, a goalpost that admittedly moves without much rhyme or reason depending on the band. As we swing into the big sing-along choruses of “Last Words” and “All as One”, I’m reminded suddenly of another Finnish act, the monster-larping Lordi and songs like “Hard Rock Hallelujah”—a particular breed of cringe-inducing winking at the audience that makes me wonder if maybe I’m taking metal too seriously, or they aren’t. Fortunately, Katharsis never feels like it’s hinging on a gag to cover up for otherwise so-so music. And while the album’s middle half tends to float away from memory, “All as One” hits like an alarm clock of unparalleled fun that had me forgetting all my self-serious pondering and just singing along. Sadly, “Endgame” pinholes the momentum and memorability that Katharsis regained by being something of a mid-paced ballad, complete with the album’s weakest chorus. “Endgame” does have a big, chuggy breakdown, though, so there’s that, at least. And closer “Feel” caps things off rather effectively, acting like a slow dance to wind things down after an all-night rager.

At thirty-eight minutes, Katharsis is a lean, mean, latex-clad machine that knows when to twirl, when to grind, and—most importantly—how to have a good time. The album may lose some steam by the middle and stumble a bit during the twilight hour, but Fear of Domination understand the value of a strong rebound. “All as One” is a low-key banger, a high-note representative of the band’s sound that, had they ended the album there, might’ve made for a truly perfect conclusion. All said, Katharsis’ biggest letdown is simply the staying power of the music itself. I’ve had a lot of fun spinning the album and can absolutely see myself pulling individual tracks for a playlist, but as a front-to-back album, it’s a bit too uneven to qualify for anything more long-term. That said, if they decide to tour in my neck of the woods sometime, I would definitely go see them—this is exactly the kind of music made for a crowd just looking to lose themselves in a good time. And I think we could all use more of that.

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Recommended tracks: Dead Anyway, Monsters, Last Words, All as One
You may also like: 3 Times Terror, Black Light Discipline, MyGrain, Breach the Void
Final verdict: 6/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Inverse Records

Fear of Domination is:
– Lauri Ojanen (bass)
– Jan-Erik Kari (guitars, backing vocals)
– Saku Solin (vocals)
– Johannes Niemi (guitars)
– Lasse Raelahti (keyboards)
– Jessica Salmi (vocals)
– Anton Nisonen (drums)

1. “Here I am. I am making my entry. With friction, no fiction.” ↩︎