WHISPERED is a new Finnish Metal act. Both their sound and lyrical themes revolve around ancient Japanese legends, myths, Samurai and Bushido. It is because of this that they have labeled themselves a "Samurai Metal" band, and "Thousand Swords" is their attempt at establishing that sound for the greater Metal community.

At over an hour in length, and plenty of variation in their material, "Thousand Swords" is one hell of a beast, and quite the ambitious effort for a new band. It should be noted that tracks 4, 5, 7 and 8 are re-recordings found on their previous demo works, but the new songs are some of the more impressive pieces of the album. "Hajimari" is a perfect introduction to their Japanese concept, offering an authentic ancient atmosphere alongside a variety of instrumentals. At times, the album can be quite orchestral in nature, but for the most part they tend to switch back and forth between soft fantastic interludes and a heavy, beat-based Metal sound.

It is difficult to liken them to other bands because they really do own their own sound. Their keyboarding techniques delve in and out of a style reminiscent to CHILDREN OF BODOM, but then quickly revert back to an atmospheric (Power Metal-esque) background sound. Their Progressive aspect of their guitar work is often similar to SCAR SYMMETRY, but these tracks are much more drawn out and their style tends to be a little more diverse.

Every song on the album is a work of art in its own right, but the two to watch out for are "Faceless" and "Blindfold", the most interesting and original sounding tunes of the year 2010. The only detracting aspect to be heard on the album is the length of some of the tracks, especially "Blade In The Snow", which clocks in at a whopping fifteen minutes and twenty-eight seconds. But it's pretty easy listening all throughout, and it can be quite mesmerizing during the short interludes in each song. This is pretty much a must-have for Metal fans who are always on the lookout for something different.