Marianas Rest is ten years old.
Formed in 2013 in Finland, the band led by Jaakko Mäntymaa (vocals), Aapo Koivisto (keyboards, Omnium Gatherum), Harri Sunila (guitar), Nico Mänttäri (guitar), Nico Heininen (drums), and Niko Lindman (bass) celebrates the anniversary with the release of Auer, their fourth album, on Napalm Records.
The album starts off softly with Auer, the eponymous track, which lets melancholic melodies accompany a voice until the heartbreaking explosion, welcoming screams and saturation. Slowness and heaviness are mixed while the vocalist is unleashed, offering a visceral performance contrasting with the rhythmic’s quietness, leading us to Diseased and its intro sample filled with sadness. Keyboards accompany the progression until the haunting riffs come to bewitch us, letting the rumbling bass crush us while the harmonics amaze us, preparing the arrival of vocals before progressing hand in hand. The rhythmic will become darker, but also much heavier, especially on vocals, before allowing a moment of respite, followed by Light Reveals Our Wounds and its much softer airy tones. The contrast will also come from the voice, going from a few words to massive screams, which both perfectly fit with these slow waves of sad and sometimes dissonant sounds before White Cradle comes to lull us with heady and still very gloomy melodies. Just like the majestic keyboards, the riffs will know how to cease to let a minimalistic sound unveil vocals, leading us to this intense final explosion before The Ground Still Burns suffocates us with its infectious coldness. The track is quite short, but leads and screams resonate in our hearts while creeping themselves in our mind before Fear Travels Fast takes its place, letting the rhythmic float around us. Once again, keyboards have a rather important place in this track which seems to imperceptibly darken while becoming worrying before this last heartbreaking howl, finally letting The Hanging Blade reveal much more raw and sharp tones. The composition is long, and it allows the band to weave its melancholic riffs around a progressive and soothing central break populated by a few ghostly screams, making the eruption even more seizing and painful before welcoming Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride) to give Sirens, the last track, a unique singing Gothic touch which wonderfully precedes the flood of visceral melancholy the band pours out one last time before giving in to silence.
With their previous album, Marianas Rest had hit hard, announcing themselves as one of the rising stars of Melodic Doom/Death. With Auer, the band confirms this impression, letting softness meet deep and intense sounds. I can’t wait to confirm this feeling on stage.
95/100