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Emppu Vuorinen's expectations on the back of Nightwish's success for his much camper side project Brother Firetribe might be a little misdirected. If the esteemed guitarist is predicting the same magnitude of interest from the constant flow of new Nightwish converts, he'll be in for a shock, as the hyper-melodic hard rock infused metal of BFT is far, far removed from the symphonic flamboyance of Tuomas Holopainen's lucrative ensemble.

Sat somewhere between Journey and Van Halen, Break Out is a saccharine blast of sugary Melodic Heavy Metal that would barely qualify as metal if it weren't for Vuorinen's screaming solos, harmonic leads, and the passionately soaring vocals of Leverage man Pekka Ansio Heino. Despite owing its aesthetic to the commercial boom of 80s American AOR, Break Out — originally released in 2006 — is undeniably Finnish, with a clear Finnvox-esque production from Sonic Pump that compliments the light nature of this rather amiably approachable record. As all the performances are of a requisite quality throughout, it is the melodies that make Break Out such an enjoyable listen; the huge, pompous keys and immense backing vocals give rise to such unforgettable gems as "I'm On Fire", "Devil's Daughter", "Midnite Queen" and the fiery "One Single Breath", all of which feature strong choruses and pounding rhythms that are frankly impossible to resist. With little or no variation in terms of pace or subject matter, Break Out isn't quite as competent as their amazing newbie Heart Full of Fire, but is a striking album of catchy melodic metal that just goes to show a little popularity can go a long way.