Finland, the land of snow, ice, Santa Claus and trees n shit. I say trees n shit because that’s the most remarkable way of describing the atmospheric black metal band, Aran, which was penned by some bloke in another online magazine which stood out above all others by capturing the zeitgeist of the band.
Multi-instrumentalist, Juhani K from Oulu has returned with a wintry and snow-capped third release, “Maahan Laskettu” roughly translated as “Lowered to the Ground” but I could be wrong. And it is best described as a continuation of the audible brilliance seen on his two previous albums that signify how you don’t need the most advanced or progressive musical traits to create a sound that beautifully personifies the wintry tundra Aran is acquainted with.
It’s one of the biggest clichés for Scandinavian metal bands to have entire albums dedicated to the winter months and all the mythologies, epic tales and history accompanying it, but for a band to capture the coldness and roaring howl of the snowy winds is something worth listening to, even if you are one who prefers the hotter aesthetic of bands from the sunnier parts of the world.
What I would call Aran’s latest studio outing is the kind of exploration seen before in Norwegian acts like Vemod. A lone figure trudging across endless plains of ice and snow springs to mind a lot when enjoying such bands, but Aran’s primitiveness and lonesome element that pays homage to the might of woodlands, gives this record a level of coldness that will please anyone who digs the ultimate in “loner music.” Knowing that this gem is the work of one man who spends his times enjoying nature and giving it the musical appreciation it always deserves, makes it the kind of album you’ll want to hear if you are one whose musical taste is influenced by a concern for the earth and the stories one can find in the emptiest of places.
It’s best to recommend this album to anyone who loves the Finnish scene but wants to experience the coldest, darkest and nature-centric atmospherics this small nation can offer the metal world. Even more so if you want a Finnish band that is not marred by any kind of controversy, as has been the case for a good deal of bands in all the years I have been acquainted with the Finnish black metal scene. Aran is a one-man project taking the clichés of such a band and giving them a much needed boost to keep them relevant today in a world without dangerous edgelords like Varg. Check out this band if you want to enjoy the best and most talented primitive Finnish metal that will take you on a snow-capped adventure with much needed peace of mind.
(8/10 Demitri Levantis)
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