The charm of Sing No Evil is amplified by Ahonen’s art, which is neat, character-rich cartooning for the most part, turning into something phenomenal when it comes to illustrations of music being played. Robert Johnson’s plaintive blues is especially well used. Ahonen knows his music beyond metal as well, including many little nods to other bands, half of which bassist Kervinen claims to have played with. Because they carry the first half of the book, it’s important that the remainder of Perkeros is filled out with likeable personalities, including the nice surreal touch of an actual bear on drums.

Aksel is utterly convincing as a nice, but deluded guy wanting the impossible, but so concerned about every tiny little detail that the big picture eludes him. If Finnish co-writers JP Ahonen and KP Alare haven’t actually had their own hopes of rock stardom while sacrificing reality, then they certainly know someone who has. We join Perkeros at a chaotic gig, then look at Aksel’s home life where his girlfriend is about reaching the end of her tether with dreams she can no longer believe in. Given that Aksel’s blown his entire student loan on instruments and other musical equipment and prioritises practicing for perfection above attending lectures, there’s no questioning his dedication, but for all that when it comes to performing he’s the weakest link. As noted by lead singer and songwriter Aksel, Perkeros play avant-garde metal.

Jp ahonen perkeros