| Duumipeikon Paluu (Demo) | 2002 | No Label |
Unfortunately Aarni's music is too complex (yet often childishly simplistic) to describe. Every time I try, I end up creating unreadable garbage by knitting various terms together. And even then I don't even scratch the surface of how this band really sounds. I end up with odd descriptions like "mix Skepticism, Deinonychus with Folk and Prog rock". And when I mentioned that their influences go from Finnish Folklore, Paganism and the occult to Parapsychology and psychoanalysis, to Lovecraft and Mythology, even I get lost in what I was trying to say. Mentioning that the band say they often get described as, "almost orthodox doom metallish Lovecraftian-Jungian Kalevala avant-garde music", probably also does not help. Equally when I go into how their lyrics are in Finnish, French, Latin, English, Swedish and even Ancient Egyptian; there just is too much information to mention!
Every time I try to describe this music I simply get lost into the quicksand of despair that is Aarni. They offer too much in their music for me to ever be able to review them, yet they often sound almost childishly simplistic. Where I keep failing to organise and categorise the different styles or create a coherent review, Aarni succeed at this musically. Their music never overwhelms you, but always surprises you. Expect the unexpected, expect heavy funeral doom, expect experimentation, expect gentle open progressive sections, expect mesmerising dreamscapes, expect to drift away, expect songs that aren't songs, expect a medieval feel, expect a futuristic feel, expect simple tunes, expect complexity, expect well… anything!
As such, while this is probably the best album I've heard in a long time, I can not review it. It is haunting, doomy, bleak, heavy, oppressive and soul crushing. But it can also be mellow, uplifting and have a childish innocence about it. Once more Finland proves to be the ultimate breeding ground for talented Doom-metal acts. My apologies to Aarni for not being able to write a coherent review of their demo and that I will never be able to let the world know about this great act!
1. Myrrys
2. Lampaan Vaatteissa
3. The Weird of Vipunen
4. Transcend Humanity
5. Reaching Azathoth
Approx. 42 minutes
| Aarni / Umbra Nihil Split (Split CD) | 2002 | Firebox |
Both bands have previously released demo's and most of that material can be found back on this split. In fact all songs by Umbra Nihil can also be found back on their demo 'Enouth, or Too much'. Only one song of that demo 'Determination' is not featured here. Aarni's tracks are a combination of songs found on his second demo 'Duumipeikon Paluu' and two not yet released songs; 'Ubbo-Sathla' and 'Anima'. The first is a rather "messed up" intro. The second is an intimate sad instrumental. Sort of like a sad nursery rhyme. Reviews of both the Umbra Nihil and Aarni demo can also be found on this website. So I would like to refer you to those for a description of the music found here.
Why buy this split? Well, the first and foremost reason would obviously be that the demo's featured here are not that easily available. I am not sure if you can still get them from the bands directly but it's save to say you would easily find them anywhere else. You also get a professional CD, which to me sounds as if it has a much fuller and richer production. And of course you get to support two of the most bizarre and interesting Doom acts our little genre has to offer.
Both bands compliment one and other well on this split. Neither of the two has been known to write conventional Doom-metal and both have nihilistic characteristics. This also means that if you like your Doom-metal filled with a good dose of heavy metal, death-metal or a groovy stoner vibe, you should think twice before getting this release. If these bands can be compared to anything at all, then it would most likely rather be to a band such as Unholy. Not so much musically, but in the pure avantagde aspect of their music. To more open-minded people, I can recommend this album. Especially if you are into nihilistic, solemn doom-metal.
Aarni:
1. Ubbo-Sathla
2. Myrrys
3. Liber Umorarum vel Coniunctio
4. Transcend Humanity
5. Reaching Azathoth
6. Anima
Umbra Nihil:
7. Follow and Believe / Fall without Relief
8. A Mere Shell
9. My Way to the lakeshore
10. Water in Lungs
Approx. 79 minutes
| Bathos (CD) | 2004 | Firedoom Records |
Fortunately, nothing of this is true. In fact, Aarni is as avantgarde as ever and the album artwork only serves to illustrate this point. No compromises are going to be made here in terms of what the general audience thinks is ‘acceptable’ or appropriate. Exactly the same uncompromising attitude is found in the music as well. Aarni shifts easily between rhythm changes, acoustic and distorted parts, clean vocals and grunts. However, the changes don’t sound forced at all and after a while, you perceive this constant shift between atmospheres as something very natural.
And here exactly lays the strength of this band: where others in the doom genre tend to repeat the same riff over and over again to create a hypnotic, mesmerizing atmosphere, Aarni achieves the same by doing exactly the opposite. After its initial confusion, your brain just accepts that a Candlemass-esque riff can at any moment turn into a catchy folk riff, a contemplative acoustic intermezzo, or even a bizarre samba-like rhythm. And the link that connects all parts like superglue is the exceptional, melodic guitar work, shifting in and out between the constant change of themes and rhythms.
In a way, this album is for me the equivalent of Arcturus’ ’La masquerade infernale’ in the doom metal genre. It is undoubtedly one of the best doom metal releases of 2004, but its ‘weirdness’ will probably be hard to swallow for some. Nevertheless, it is a serious recommendation for those who do appreciate musical innovation and experimentation.
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou
We've been waiting for about two years, but now the moment is finally here. Master Warjomaa and his band of Werry (Mo)Wen (inverted letters courtesy of Doomintroll) have been at it again and made a whole album of new musick (spelled with an extra 'k' to prevent confusion with the more mundane 'music').
And what unholy conjurations this way come. More than an hour of unconventional music with a metal core. Perhaps these new pieces are somewhat less prone to placement in the doom sector, but they are certainly no less interesting than the material on previous releases. The songs in general are estranging, folkish, psychedelic, ritual, sometimes doomy, and always interesting. Guitar is still the main instrument used, but the flute comes into play now and then as do the keys and some other features. The vocals are also highly varied: some growls, some low dirges, some fragile clean voices, some whispers.
It's safe to say the the instrumentarium is extensive, as are the lyrical influences. Much information about that can be found at the Aarni weblair at http://www.aarni.info. But then there are the musical influences... Although the music is highly original in itself, the artist who is not influenced is very rare. Naturally influences are present here too, but again not from the most predictable directions. Throughout the album you can find musical references (real or imagnied by yours truly) to artists as diverse as: Current 93, Joe Satriani, The Doors, Tenhi and Nest. All that should give you an idea of what we're dealing with here.
But the album also raises many questions. Such as: How trippy can artwork with pussycats and mushrooms get? Do I keep the cool questionnaire to read now and then for fun or do I bury it and see what happens? Why does the Antichrist live surprisingly near where I live? Do I really want these answered?
Whatever the answers may be, Aarni always manages to make me think about a great many things and that may be one of its strongest points. Not only the music or the lyrics, but the whole multi-media material surrounding the band is interesting. Just read some of the interviews or things on the website. Whatever it may be, it's never dull.
But back to the subject. I think I have made it clear that there is a lot you can get from this album, and I urge anyone who's not afraid of something different to go out and get it. To finish off, the best way I can think of to describe this album is a famous Dutch expression (my apologies to all you non-dutchies): "Een beetje vreemd, maar wel lekker".
Reviewed by: Oscar Strik
1. Oneiroskopos
2. Squaring the Circle
3. Quinotaurus (Twelve Stars in sight)
4. Kivijumala
5. V.I.T.R.I.O.L.
6. The Thunder, Perfect Mindfuck
7. Mental Fugue
8. Niut Net Meru
9. Kesäyö
Approx. 62 minutes