Finlandia, oh how you are spoiling us. Having just about recovered from the excellent new Swallow The Sun album in February, barely a breath can be drawn before more atmospheric gloom and doom is served up by Barren Earth, who have dug beneath the frozen soil to deliver their second album. Barren Earth if you do not know are a bit of a super group and contain members past and present of some of the best bands their country (which we all know is metal to the core) has to offer. Amongst these the list is sprawling; Mannhai, Amorphis, Moonsorrow, October Falls, Thy Serpent, Waltari and indeed Swallow The Sun are just some of these bands and with a cast list such as that it was no surprise when Peaceville grabbed them and signed them to the label. Debut album ‘Curse Of The Red River’ in 2010 should have put them firmly on your map, if not then no worry as you are going to be surely back peddling and grabbing it after hearing this.
So for the uninitiated, which of the many bands that the members are comprised from do Barren Earth sound like? Well no easy answer that, as although you will hear bits here and there that are reminiscent of some of them the combination of very talented musicians have their own unique sound. Quickly establishing itself is the progressive twists and turns as we open into ‘Passing Of The Crimson Shadows.’ Clean and gruff vocals are interchanged fluidly by singer Mikko Kotamäki and the music matches veering between wafting melodic harmonies and hefty, pounding drum patterns. At times perhaps mainly due to the really low bear like vocals I am reminded of ‘Tales’ era Amorphis which is certainly no bad thing. A theme of the album is rain in both lyrics and song titles, this is first addressed in ‘The Rain Begins’ which has some great (again it has to be said) Amorphis etched keyboards and guitar work. There is a really classic feel to this and it is despite the title a real warm sounding number full of hope and more like the beam of the sun casting its glare as it peeks through the clouds. The keys go all retro and 70s sounding and the progressive touches really shine through as well here, which with the growling vocals make this a perfect death / prog combination.
‘Vintage Warlords’ goes for the throat like the title suggests, the barbarians are at the gate? Well if they are, prepare for them to go Scottish with ‘As It Is Written’ which is a song I have really fallen for hook line and sinker. If the bagpipe sound at the start was not enough the keyboards here sound like early Marillion and you could easily imagine Fish joining in on the chorus. Not that Mikko needs help there at all and by the sound of what he is saying the rain is now well and truly falling. Add a Keith Emerson piano flurry and we really are ticking off names both past and present here.
After such a light and harmonious track the second half of the album is a bit more death laden. The progressive guitar turns on ‘Oriental Pyre’ do remind a bit of Opeth and have a real virtuoso feel to it and the excellent musicianship is beyond reproach. Shades of light and dark continue to flirt with each other, the sombre and maudlin clean croons and passages on ‘White Fields’ are really poignant and this is another song that really sticks in the memory. ‘Where All Stories End’ which starts like a story itself is a nice end to the album (unless you get the special edition with two extra tracks). It is a calmer conclusion to a very solid album that should certainly see the group winning more fans. What they really need to do now though is get out on the road and support it.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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