Having just released an album last year, the Finnish septet have been keeping themselves busy and are back with this 6-track EP. It’s a far more laid-back affair which at times seems to be showcasing the silences and mellowest of passages rather than the heavier guitar parts, but still thoroughly enjoyable.

While Toni Hatakka’s vocals are mostly clean, I must admit that I like the contrast his death vocals give on “Neither Moth nor Rust” especially when combined with Riikka Hatakka’s much softer vocals. Jussi Kirves’s bass cuts through under Mikko Kolari and Jussi Hämäläinen’s guitars as Nino Hynninen fills the sound with his keyboard melodies over Sami Forsstén’s steady time keeping.

Slowly building up and getting heavier with more enthused drumming as it crescendos, “The Last Dance” blends the harmonious vocals with the growls over slow riffs that too get heavier without increasing their pace.

The acoustic guitar strumming over the languishing keyboard notes with Riika’s sweetly sung vocals give “And Leave All Love Behind” a lullaby feel as it serenely breezes along without effort.

“The Raven Portrait” is piano and the crashing of waves as its atmospheric sounds are gently meditative.

The whispered vocals on “On the Shore of Eternity” give the song a haunted sadness that even the beautiful bass melody can’t dispel, while the guitars gently add to the melancholy.

The original version is from last year’s album ‘Skeleton Lake’, “Field of Reeds (Avalon Skies Rework)” is vastly toned down instrumentally where the guitars have had all their aggression removed, but their melody remains and seems all the more poignant is this version which is more electronic with plenty of piano.

As it’s a short EP, it feels like a cathartic release with all the anger already gone, and just hear to reassure and soothe. Definitely a pleasant listen on a miserable winter’s day.

(8/10 Marco Gaminara)

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