Sunrise over Barren Earth
As an admitted and unrepentant Amorphis geek, I was thrilled last year to find former bassist Olli-Pekka “Oppu” Laine (in the band from 1990-2000; inarguably their best and most influential years) resurfacing in progressive death metal outfit Barren Earth. Laine, who’d found the stoner rock leanings of prior outfit Mannhai limiting, wanted a return to deathly heaviness, and with the Our Twilight EP, released through Peaceville, he found it, accompanied by such Finnish luminaries as vocalist Mikko Kotamäki (Swallow the Sun), guitarists Janne Perttilä (Rytmihäiriö) and Sami Yli-Sirniö (Kreator) and drummer Marko Tarvonen (Moonsorrow) in an underground supergroup of devastating musical heft.
Inevitability dictates there must be a full-length to follow-up a debut EP, and Barren Earth have theirs in the form of Curse of the Red River (still Peaceville), which, like Our Twilight, boasts a cover strictly adhered to an old school mid-’90s European death/doom aesthetic, even as the music finds itself in a different niche entirely, veering away from the Paradise Lost-worship suggested by the visuals in favor of a thoroughly modern progressive death approach. Opeth was a sticking point comparison to the EP and the same holds true for Curse of the Red River, Kotamäki’s multi-layered vocals moving gracefully between throaty growling and clean melodies. The title track of the EP shows up here as well, and fits in well enough with the rest of the material, which on “Forlorn Waves” puts keyboardist Kasper Mårtenson, also ex-Mannhai and Amorphis, to work on a track that recalls Elegy’s masterful blend of folk-inspired beauty and wrenching metallic crunch.
Liberal switches between heavy and acoustic parts are sprinkled into the songs, and as Curse of the Red River treads on, the tracks start to blend together. The closing trio of “Ere all Perish,” “Cold Earth Chamber” and “Deserted Morrows” — each track providing a solid listen individually — sounds undeniably samey after the six cuts that precede it, and one is suddenly surprised that a band with such a diverse sonic breadth would begin to feel formulaic so soon. Where earlier moments like “Flicker” grooved as only the best death metal can (and also offered a stretch of engaging folk guitar) and “The Leer” provided a guitar solo bound to perk up the arm hair of anyone who’s experienced Tuonela, Barren Earth seem to have packed Curse of the Red River top-heavy. That’s not to say the aforementioned songs aren’t enjoyable – I’ve started the album at track six (the memorably keyboard rich “The Ritual of Dawn”) and dug it right to the end, but the way the tracks are ordered on the complete record, it does drag compared to the first half.
Nonetheless, there is a certain sect of fans of Finnish metal (as opposed to Finnish metal fans) for whom Barren Earth will be a boon, and I count myself among their ranks. Perhaps what surprises most about Curse of the Red River is the dynamism of the playing and the flow between parts heavy and soft. These are all experienced musicians, but sometimes it takes a while for a group of guys – all used to doing things a specific way – to become accustomed to playing with each other. Barren Earth seem to have surpassed that learning curve on their debut, and for their having done so, it’s all the more exciting to think where they’ll go from here.
Tags: Barren Earth, Finland, Peaceville
