Although hailed as the next big thing and generating a huge buzz in the underground melodic/gothic rock scene with their debut release Unreal in 2006, End Of You still remain somewhat unknown outside their native Finland.

Now returning after a two year hiatus, the Helsinki based five-piece act (who comprise of former Afterworld vocalist Jami Pietilä, guitarist Jani Karppanen, former Catamenia/current Kalmah bassist Timo “Lede” Lehtinen, keyboardist Joni “Johnny” Borodavkin and drummer Rami Kokko) look set to attract more attention with their second full-length effort Mimesis.

The opening track “Better God” gets the album off to a sweeping start with its lush keyboard arrangements, heavy choruses and the superbly melodic vocals from Pietilä, while the rocking first single/promotional video clip “You Deserve More” follows along on a similar path, with the guitars and bass dominating a little more than the keyboards.

The dramatic “Memoir,” the heavy “Paper Trails” and “Over And Out” reveal some slight HIM influences with their overtly melancholy tempos and feel, while the band manage to transform Tina Turner’s version of “Goldeneye” (the Bono/The Edge composed theme tune of the James Bond film from 1995) into something a little more sinister sounding.

The use of synthesized percussion on “Blind Rhythm” and “Number 8” give the band a more industrialized/dance sound which actually works well in context with their familiar gothic/rock sound, while the towering “Driving Down The Void” and the ambient David Sylvian-like “In Elegance (Closure)” only add more diversity to the album.

Although there’s little of anything really different from what you would normally expect from a group playing within the gothic/rock genre, End Of You manage to write songs that really are incredibly melodic and memorable. And that is more than enough to make Mimesis stand out amongst the crowd, and earn itself as one of this year’s surprise releases.

www.endofyou.net