Review Summary: It’s only black metal (but I like it)
Despite atmospheric black metal being one of my go-to musical styles, I generally find releases under its umbrella challenging to write about. Primarily, this is because separating the wheat from the chaff is often dependent upon very narrow margins which determine whether a particular album manages to be effective at making me “feel” its vibe and ethos, and it’s not easy to put into words how an artist was able to pull that off (or not). Aran, a one-man act hailing from northern Finland, is now three for three in navigating this delicate dance and gaining the atmo bm Sunnyvale stamp of approval, though. The project’s mastermind, Juhani K, reliably churns out black metal odes mixing somber and melancholic feeling with the more aggressive style his country is known for, and both of his first two albums (in 2020 and 2021) were effective representations of his chosen subgenre. Third LP
Maahan Laskettu doesn’t aspire to reinvent the wheel, but does nonetheless mark Aran’s most introverted and thoughtful effort yet. The album’s key accomplishment, achieved over five tracks totaling nearly forty-nine minutes, is its impeccable sense of balance - on the one side, stretches of calm leaning upon a brooding sense of lingering mystery - on the other, towering segments of metallic wrath augmented by powerful shrieks at the front of the mix. Together, the whole piece manages to capture something of the archaic and sleeping, but very much alive, power of nature which the whole atmospheric black metal scene is so fond of idolizing. In short, it’s a very well-crafted, and feels like an engrossing venture once more into the frigid woodlands on the Arctic periphery.
Maahan Laskettu’s evocations of midwinter solitude aren’t the most obvious listening companion for our current height of summer backdrop, but the record’s quality level can’t be denied. Hey, is it just me, or is it getting cold in here?
