I'm not familiar with this Finnish act, but this is their debut full-length, and with it they unload nearly an hour of intense material very much in the vein of acts like Isis and Cult of Luna, with moderately paced tempos and plodding rhythms layering thick chord progressions with subtly droning layers of melodic textures interspersed with softer clean passages and atmospheric breaks. Numerous guest contributions also spice things up with occasional smatterings of electronics, slide guitar, glockenspiel, saxophone, cello, additional male/female vocals, etc. - with the lead vocals taking on an aggressive snarl that's somewhere between growling and screaming. The tracks all tend to run five to eight minutes, give or take, with a very consistent throbbing pulse to the tempos and accents of the rhythm section, especially in the almost hypnotic "Cold Stare", which has quite a few curious chord phrasings and uses of discordant melody involved. "Limb: Diasporas" brings in some very nice dissonant riffing that's reminiscent of some of Burst's slower work, accenting some of the dynamics with excellent female singing for a short time. "Storm" tops nine minutes and opens very slowly with some distant drones and clean guitars against simple basslines and soft percussion, bringing back some of the female singing before distortion kicks in around the three-minute mark - later dropping back to a middleground range for one of the record's longest instrumental passages (of which there are a good many). It's "Caverns of Khafka", though, that's one of the immediate standouts... something about its emotional melodies and effective use of repetition (with faint shifts for added impact) immediately hits home - even as an instrumental (a similar approach is taken in the more menacing "Worlds Collide" as well). "Like Abel's Blood Cried for Revenge" is a little more straightforward with some of its note choices, which I very much enjoy too. Overall the tracks are generally heavy both literally and even more so in suggestive atmosphere, as some of the playing and tones aren't necessarily so directly in your face. I have no complaints about the recording. The vocals sound great, the percussion is resonant and natural with a good snap, the guitars are densely textured but have an open sort of vibe that really lets the bass open up and play a major role, etc. The mix is also rather clear, so despite there being a lot of minor details, nothing feels neglected, and there are also no gaps, so it's cohesive and full throughout. The layout also looks quite nice, with lots of abstracted landscape photographs littered with random textures and symbols with the lyrics in clean text arranged amongst the clutter. There's some metallic gold ink to spice things up, and overall everything's really interesting. The lyrics are curious as well, at times hinting at a strange spiritual sort of connotation, and I can't tell if it's a concept for the record or something actually being advocated in some way: "Separation from the body of Christ. Town divided in numerous districts. The globe all covered by wanderers. They roam with no direction. The holy land, the promised land - your time will come and they will be returned." Damn fine work overall. Thus far both of the releases I've heard from Fullsteam Records have been rather impressive - making me interested to hear more from the label. This disc is going to be re-released on Earache Records sometime in early-2005, which should make it easier to get a hold of, so if you don't feel like grabbing a copy from Fullsteam for some reason, definitely keep an eye out for the wider release through Earache (though I wonder if it will look as nice as this one does). Recommended... especially for fans of the darker and more destructively intense side of the Hydra Head kind of roster.
[Fullsteam]
Running time - 58:07, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Cold Stare, Caverns of Khafka, Like Abel's Blood Cried for Revenge, Worlds Collide]
Fullsteam Records - http://www.fullsteamrecords.com
