As the Sun Falls never stops.
Less than a year after their last EP, Jani Berney Mikkänen (guitar/vocals, Elysia, Tenebrae Aeternum, ex-Malphas), Lauri Unkila (guitar, Eartheria), Oskar Englund (bass), Paul Rytkönen (drums, ex-Diablerie) and Mikko Voutilainen (vocals, Volturyon) return to present their new album Kaamos on Theogonia Records.
The album opens with Indrøø, a long introduction that slowly explores the icy, majestic landscape before encountering percussion, then an initial saturated rhythm leading us to Among the Stars, where massive howls appear between the impressive riffs. A few harmonics and clean vocals feed the composition’s soothing dimension, but saturation reinforces it without delay, creating this natural duality before reaching Black Lakes, where the aggressive Old School roots express themselves to create a more raw atmosphere. The warlike march maintains its brisk pace right through to the end, where the keyboards push us to the mysterious In Forlorn Times, which bewitches us with its airy melodies, coupled with those fascinating sounds that fill the air, letting the vocalist tell us his story. A calm break allows us to catch our breath, then the saturation returns one last time before The Wanderer takes its place, first in tranquility, then surrendering to fury in this contrasting eight-minute tableau. The band captivates us right up to the final, which briefly brings the pressure back down, only for Aurora to set it ablaze again, while retaining the solemn coldness of the keyboards, broken by the more jerky patterns that transport us to Through Sorrow and Grief, where melancholy is embodied by those piercing leads. A female voice also haunts the gentle riffs, before the rhythmic beat picks up again, giving the duo one last dance before they return to silence, while Into the Shadows gradually builds until the tornado strikes again. Long clean vocals passages allow the band to stall while our minds soak up this permanent softness, finally swept away by Silver Shining, which gives drums an important role in supporting the soaring riffs within which the screams are born and fade away. The Great Cold returns to the vivid jerky elements, to which the melodious clouds are instinctively grafted, then Kaamos, the eponymous track, unfurls its veil of gentleness to make this final instrumental ballad a moment of soothing.
As the Sun Falls is not only prolific, but also highly inspired! If the band indulges in regular releases, they are all equally well crafted. Kaamos has that icy, majestic touch we love to find in our moments of mental escapism.
90/100
