Archelirion
Arche
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Soundoffs 108
News Articles 2
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Album Edits 409

Album Ratings 251
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Last Active 10-08-21 11:02 pm
Joined 05-22-12

Review Comments 6,594

 Lists
05.22.22 10 years of fading in and out like a kn ♦10.08.21 Remember when Sput had last.fm integrat
11.11.20 pls rec me cosy jangly lady indie rock 09.06.20 10 more songs not to listen to while ri ♦
10.06.19 Arche's great 2019 bm catch up ♦09.12.19 2019 ambient for comfy sleeps and peace
12.23.18 Arche's 2018 ♦12.23.17 Arche's 50 from '17 ♦
10.29.17 Diddle Arche 6: math10.21.17 Diddle Arche 5: rec anything 2 (electri
10.14.17 Diddle Arche 4: Asia10.11.17 Diddle Arche 3: Musicals/OSTs/films
10.09.17 Diddle Arche Round 2: Finland10.08.17 (a comp) Diddle your boi Arche's earpie
10.07.17 NYP grabs / transferring ratings to RYM09.12.17 So I met CalculatingInfinity, and he me ♦
07.03.17 Arche's best bits - Jan to Jun05.01.17 Arche's April
More »

Diddle Arche Round 2: Finland

So, when I was a nipper, I got quite majorly into languages - particularly Finnish, which looked like nothing I'd ever seen before. It looks so cool, sounded so weird, and the people that spoke it (mainly racing car drivers at that age) seemed basically emotionless. Awesome. Now of course, I'm aware some shit hot music comes from there.
1Horna
Sanojesi Aarelle

tl;dr description: rec me songs by Finnish artists. Alternatively, if you know of a song called 'Helsinki', or a band called 'To The Finland Station', that's cool too - it's just got to reference the country in some loose way.

Side note: 3 people go out this round to bring it to 20. I'm definitely not changing my mind this time. Nope.
2(eight)
Emme Nae Elamaa

Also, a quick note about winners. In true Project Runway fashion (Tim Gunn is my reason for living tbh) the winner of each round gets immunity in the next
so
Aberf can't go out this round. Of course, if he wins again then so on the next round. Good luck everyone, look forward to hearing what you come up with :]
3Rahu
The Quest for the Vajra of Shadows

The Serpent King

Ovrot

Really, really excellent black metal. It’s pretty much impossible to hate BM when it’s got this kinda drum production anyway – thundering bass presence, snare not-too-high – and with the melodies here, what’s not to like. On the topic of the melodies, its surprising how ‘pretty’ they sound when you actually listen to the guitar tone, which is pretty lo-fi. Somehow gets 9 hugely enjoyable minutes out of, really, relatively few ideas. 4.3/5.0
4Demilich
Nespithe

The Sixteenth Six-tooth Son of Fourteen Four-regional Dimensions

cryptologous

Oh my, I’ve been sleeping on this one. Hadn’t even reached the infamous vox and was loving this – that opening section covers the divide between groovable and deranged perfectly, and THAT BASS tone was pure filth. The vox are the weakEST link but that’s more a reflection on that ridiculous guitar work, drum sound, bass, and the band’s appreciation of not letting themselves overstay their welcome. Really great stuff. 4.15/5.0
5Insomnium
Above the Weeping World

Mortal Share

BlackwaterPork

Is… is that a 7/4 opening riff? To be honest, I’m not quite sure what I made of this one. There’s something I normally feel about melodeath which makes me wish it was slowed down, tweaked, and turned into death/doom, and I definitely started to feel this as the track approached its end here too – I guess it’s something to do with how polished it sounds, or the inherent attention to melody. Yet, I found a fair amount I enjoyed about this too, especially that mid-section with the slightly, stilted, feel? Not converted me to the melodeath side yet, but still decent. 3.6/5.0.
6Beastmilk
Use Your Deluge

Red Majesty

UniqueUniverse

A fuzzier, less trebly Beastmilk than the one I’ve grown to love on Climax (or their great new one, under the moniker Grave Pleasures), this isn’t one to move along with quite as much. This is, naturally, a little bit of a shame, but it does create a track with a more convincingly dour, apocalyptic tone, which I suppose fits into their lyrical scheme surrounding Cold War rivalries, nuclear winters et al. Probably not going to be a favourite of mine compared to some of their other material, but interesting nonetheless. 3.6/5.0
7Wintersun
Wintersun

Beautiful Death

ryus

I finally get to hear why Jari absolutely NEEDS that sauna for the next album. Like a kind of melodeath/meloblack hybrid with all the bombast of power metal, we’re talking extended solos, rasps/epic cleans, cold orchestral synths – there’s a definite all-or-nothing approach going on here, and you know what? It’s awesome. The little mournful, Arabesque solo at the end was a nice emotional touch, but largely, this was just really good fun. 3.9/5.0.
8Coheed and Cambria
The Second Stage Turbine Blade

Paleface & Matre - Sacred Order of the Pen

Rowan5215

“I’ve got 15 rappers on a track, that’s a lot of us.” Haha. I LOVED most of this. Purely from a stylistic perspective it was interesting to see so many different styles on one track, from laid-back, spacey bars to aggressive spitting and everywhere in between. The beat was excellent too – a kinda cold yet Arabian-spiced deal, I don’t think I stopped moving once to it. Towards the end a couple were a little naff, but overall, very fun. Paleface is a scary looking dude. 4.0/5.0.
9Architecture In Helsinki
Moment Bends

Contact High

verdant/Jack

As much as it pains me to say, there wasn’t a lot about this one I liked. During the first verse, it felt like the synths slightly drowned each other out, which was impressive given the composition wasn’t actually all that busy. I really, really disliked the guy’s voice, and when used in the smarmy, blocky hook – gah. Really sorry pal, but this wasn’t one of your finer cuts. 2.2/5.0.

--ELIMINATED-- ;-;
10Rippikoulu
Musta Seremonia

Ikuinen Piina

hansoloshotfirst

I am 99% sure I’ve heard tracks off this before, so I was slightly unsure whether or not to allow it, but – eh. Hadn’t heard this one, and I will definitely be checking the rest of this album out in the near future because everything about this track is filth. The guitar tone? Doomy, riffy filth. The vox? Growly, wretched filth. That bass kick sound? Gorgeous. And the cherry on top? A second half that’s even better than the first – every riff is almost obscenely dark. Wonderful. 4.3/5.0.
11Arktau Eos
Mirrorion

A Banquet of Ghosts

Astral Abortis

Pretty intense ambient/folk stuff that managed to do the shallow breath thing yadda yadda basically I loved the atmosphere. I kept expecting to break into BM or something for some reason so the fact it didn’t was maybe a little disappointing initially, but ultimately I’m glad they stuck with it. 3.8/5.0.
12Kairon IRSE!
Ujubasajuba

Swarm

Aberf

I had no idea what to really expect going into this, but… heavy, spacey rock/pop? This absolutely, 100% completely works. I understand that’s a male singing? It’s like the most beautiful, pure castrati got thrown into a pit with Slowdive, Alter and a Steven Wilson (or something) and told ‘there you go.’ It’s an intense, emotionally-investing ride with spectacular climaxes that elevate and then crush. 4.3/5.0.
13Amorphis
Tales From the Thousand Lakes

Black Winter Day

bgillesp

Piano and cheesy synths in the first 10 seconds? I’m in. Actually a surprisingly lovely bass guitar tone used here, but otherwise we’re looking at simply well-done death/doom with a few more synths melodies than is typical. Vocals are good (the growls in particular blend clarity and ‘viscous’ growling very nicely), atmospheres are there, and it’s not too long either. The epitome of ‘good, solid music.’ 3.8/5.0.
14Pekka Pohjola
Visitation

Vapour Trails

50IL

Having reviewed his son’s tribute to the now-late prog bassist, it’s interesting to hear one of the tracks he composed – one of the many – which Verneri didn’t adapt. As to be expected Pekka’s basswork is absolutely sterling, but there’s a wonderful girth of variety here, blending funk and jazz into YYZ-esque instrumental noodling. As it happens, vocal-less prog is normally my favourite, and this does nothing to dissuade me from my position. 4.1/5.0.
15YUP
Toppatakkeja ja Toledon terasta

Toppatakkeja ja Toledon terasta

Frivolous

This was… weird. A sort of toned-down Bungle mixed with hard rock and a twinge of brutal prog thrown in for good measure, the breakneck flips between irregular, spastic sections, ‘lighters in the air’ rock and a kind of punky vibe meant that this was an interesting listen certainly. Not sure I liked all of it, especially in the first half, but overall pretty decent. 3.5/5.0.

--ELIMINATED-- ;-;
16Moonsorrow
Kivenkantaja

Raunioilla

adr

With my increasing interest in pagan metal since Havukruunu’s effort earlier on this year, this probably marks the perfect time for me to get off my arse and actually check Moonsorrow out. This DELIVERED. When I don’t want 13 minutes to be over then that’s a grand sign – epic, beautiful and heavy, this basically does everything I ever wanted it to do. Don’t want to go on any further cos I’ll just gush everywhere, but stunning rec. 4.5/5.0.

--WINNER-- ^ ^ /
17Husky Rescue
Ghost Is Not Real

Blueberry Tree 1, 2 and 3

sinternet

A pretty, relaxing dream-pop/indietronica foray, Blueberry Tree is one of those pieces of music which doesn’t require a huge amount of studious listening – which isn’t a bad thing, as it means I can just drift off for 11 minutes in a cosy cloud of airy synth, sparkling guitars and Reeta-Leena Korhola’s vocals, which manage to sound delicate and beautiful without resorting to obnoxious breathing whisperings. Nowt groundbreaking, but it doesn’t need to be. 3.9/5.0.
18Tenhi
Folk Aesthetic 1996-2006

Koiranlainen Peura

tacos N stuff

Really sweet grounded, dark neofolk that felt convincingly woodsy, but not in a Musk Ox way. Don’t have a colossal amount to say about it besides that I felt like it would be better stood in a deciduous forest (coincidentally, this time of year is PERFECT) so I may have to try it out. Did I hear a Jew’s harp? Always a bonus. 3.8/5.0.
19Ghost Brigade
Until Fear No Longer Defines Us

Clawmaster

CaimanJesus

Used to jam Isolation Songs hard back in the day, so quite why I never got around to this I’m honestly not sure about. As to be expected, super-solid, heavy as sin atmosludge with, I think, maybe a little death/doom slant (by virtue of its slow, plodding, EMPHATIC drum beat). Would perhaps have preferred a little more variation towards its end, but aside from that not a lot to complain about. 3.7/5.0.
20Betrayal At Bespin
Rains

My Hands Are On Fire

Sniff

Okay, so this was really neat - a thundering post-metal track yet with more than a tinge of its softer cousin, especially as the track progressed. The gang chanted section actually worked really well, although I’m never going to lose my love for Scott Kelly-esque roars so that was obviously the highlight. Will check the rest of this at some point. 4.0/5.0.
21Apocalyptica
Inquisition Symphony

Harmageddon

Joeman82

Okay, so it’s probably a gimmick at least to some extent– 4 celloists doing metal covers – but it kinda works. Harmageddon is, I understand, one of the few originals on this album, and it’s pretty damn interesting, especially that midsection where it starts to ooze early 90s death metal in its approach (kinda like a cello’s Mental Funeral at some points). I’d maybe have preferred a little more traditionally classical melody in parts, but I guess they’re not about that. 3.5/5.0.

--ELIMINATED-- ;-;
22Terveet Kadet
Aareton joulu

Haistelijat

Chortles

Hoooooooooly shit. This vocal performance is nuts – not so much in terms of making odd noises, but more the timbre of their punky expulsions is bizarre to say the least. The track itself is pretty par-for-the-course-but-good 80s hardcore punk, but they fit two – TWO – solos in there. It’s 44 seconds long. I spent longer writing this summary. Yeah, this slayed for what it’s worth. 3.9/5.0.
23Pepe Deluxe
Queen of the Wave

Go Supersonic

Frippertronics

So there I was, enjoying a lovely piece of 50s-inspired indie pop-rock (pop-pop-silence-pop snare pattern and all) when it turned into some weird choral section that’s more Dead Can Dance than surfy, post-war optimism – it’s like the B52’s but even odder. And yeah, it was really, really good fun. Might have to check the rest of this out cos I think there’s some gems in there somewhere. 3.9/5.0.
24Nightwish
Once

Ghost Love Score

Flugmorph

This started positively enough – you know, synths, strings, all the usual symphonic gubbins – but then Tarja started singing the backing changed to a standard 4/4 hard rock beat, eliciting an ‘oh God.’ When the midsection started though, and it just went full-on epic classical, chorals and (the following) hard hits and good slaps, it becomes overblown, wholesome, dragon-fighting symphonic metal at its best. So I don’t know how to rate this really. A 3.5? I didn’t like the first half, but the second was class. Uh. 3.7/5.0.
25Swallowed
Lunarterial

Reverence through Darkness

Jacquibim

Saving an absolute monster till last I see. This is so ugly. It held itself together – just – for the first 90 seconds, and then just exploded in a mire of blasts (maybe my favourite drum tone of this round too), rabid gnashes and an atmosphere so murky you need one of those torches you get from petrol stations to see through it. Like, nothing about this should work even individually, let alone as a collective, but it just DOES. I wanna buy a cloak and huff off-milk listening to this. 4.3/5.0.
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