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Ian Highill has been knocking around the Finnish underground for years, singing for Olympos Mons without too much notice and more recently actually getting some attention with Astralion. As good a time as any to do a solo project, I suppose, which brings us to his debut album Man in White.

Rather than the Power Metal he often works with, this album is more about smooth, commercialized Heavy/Doom that's not too far off from Dio-era Sabbath, though it's a bit heavier than that would imply. This kind of thing requires a balance of energy and mood, and to Highill's credit, he's pretty good at that. You get straightforward rockers like "In the Darkness of the Grave" and "Goodbye Nightmare" mixed with slower, moodier numbers like "Caravan" and the killer "Firewater", and they're all supported by heavy, Iommi-esque riffing and a solid performance from Ian, whose voice is far better suited to this approach than his normal Power Metal gigs. I have to dock points for "Dark Muddy Waters", which is a lame ballad that borders on a limp gospel song, and a couple of interlude tracks which don't really add anything, but while there's nothing amazing going on here, Man in White is a solid piece of retro goodness that'll do you nicely.