Last week, when I ended off with Lamp of the Universe, I noted that I was doing so because having searched for the bleakest, heaviest and most chaotic thing I could find, I decided to go the opposite route. If I’d kept that search up, there’s a good chance I might’ve landed on Finland’s Dark Buddha Rising. Along with the striking, blood-covered impression the band made at Roadburn last year, their 2008 album, Ritual IX, was previously written about here, and when they want to get there, they can be about as dark as anything I’ve heard. This track, the 43-minute Ritual IX closer, “Enneathan,” is a little more varied than that, hypnotically building its pace to chaotic swirl before diverging to primordial drones, but it’s longer than anything they did before or since, so screw it. Long song wins.

In a couple minutes — pretty much as soon as I finish this post — I’m going to head to Brooklyn to catch Helen Money at the St. Vitus bar. Her latest album, Arriving Angels (review here), was killer and I’d like to buy it in person, plus I’ve nerded out on her stuff for more than half a decade and it’s high time I caught a live show. Provided a meteor doesn’t strike between now and then, I’ll have a review of that on Monday, and also next week, look for a writeup on Shallow Grave‘s new album, which is awesome, and a Q&A with The Kings of Frog Island about their latest. If I get the chance to transcribe it, I might do Pombagira‘s interview as well, but don’t quote me on that. Either way, good times to come.

Monday I’ll also have a Clamfight update on their doings, which as one would have to expect, are excellent.

It’s Not Night: It’s Space are playing Monday night in Manhattan, and though a Monday show’s a hard sell and I usually work late, I’m gonna give that my best shot too. Got my fingers crossed I can get my ass in gear for it. Lot of good shows coming up. Much to see, much to do.

As always, I hope you have a great and safe weekend. If you haven’t checked in on the forum lately, it rules and you should. I’m sure I’ll be there all weekend while I continue to blow off the work I should’ve been doing today. Huzzah!

It’s a hell of a sprawl, but there’s something about the complexity of the atmosphere created by Finnish heavy epic space purveyors Mr. Peter Hayden (named not for any member of the band) on their Winter Records/Post-RBMM full-length that not only holds interest, but envelops it. The album, dubbed Faster Than Speed and centered thematically on astrophysical notions on the nature of time, is comprised of two 33-minute songs – complete ideas in and of themselves – but where Mr. Peter Hayden really stand apart is in the construction and arrangement of their material. Grandiose heavy psych excursions are nothing new, even with the elements of metallic crunch that the Kankaanpää six-piece incorporate, but where many of their center-galaxy-bound peers fill their extended track lengths with heady jamming and an improv feel – nothing against it, it works wonderfully when done well – Mr. Peter Hayden don’t lose sight of song structure no matter how far out they go. That’s not to say that either “Smoke in Space” or “Delta t=0” feel overly composed or somehow contrived, just that there’s a charted course the players are following.

“Smoke in Space” begins its long journey literally from silence. The track is a long groundswell built on post-rock churn and brought to cohesiveness with the creative drumming of M. Marjamäki. S. Kuosmanen’s synth begins first, and gradually the rest of the unit joins in. This section of the song is essential in setting the atmosphere, and by that I mean that the song puts you in the world Mr. Peter Hayden are creating, so that you know what to expect in terms of pace and level of execution. It’s this quiet beginning and ultra-patient build – you could argue it lasts for 22 of the song’s total 33 minutes, though there are ebbs and flows within that time – that keep Faster Than Speed from losing the listener, since as you take on the album, you know right from the start that the ambience in which you’re embroiled is central to the music. You’re not waiting for the song to start, in other words. J.P. Koivisto and V. Vatanen, who join Kuosmanen on guitar, add some of the aforementioned metallic crunch, while bassist L. Kivelä thickens out the sound and keeps “Smoke in Space” from coming off as too tonally skeletal and the added percussion T. Santamaa, though featured more on “Delta t=0,” adds rhythmic flourish. The several shifts from loud to quiet feel natural and show admirable restraint on the part of Mr. Peter Hayden collectively, but like the entirety of Faster Than Speed, keep a natural, live feel that does best services the track’s presentation.

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