Inspired by Triptykon and named after Death Valley, Kuolemanlaakso first appeared in 2010 as the one-man project of guitarist/keyboardist Laakso with his initial 4-track demoes received such positive feedback that he decided to recruit members of Swallow The Sun, Chaosweaver, Elenium, and Cult of Endtime to achieve his vision of dark, heavy and catchy music. Uljas Uusi Maailma, the band's début, was recorded in February 2012 by none other than V. Santura of Triptykon who, so inspired by music, makes an appearance on no less than five of the eight tracks.
Laden with atmospheric intros, mightily chugging doom riffs aplenty, a venomous vocal that bears the occasional rhythmic impact of Korn's Jonathan Davis (ugh!) and the scorn of black metal, a mountain of feedback and haunting and ethereal moods and tones, this is as heavy and as laboured as you'd expect. Evocate melodies are juxtaposed with tribal and hypnotic rhythms, magical tones, and colossal doom riffs in this vast desert of burning suns and scorched sands. The keyboards add a particularly unnecessary shine that taints an otherwise bruising and effective album with a mountain of force imbued into its already ferocious grandeur. With plenty great riffs, a powerful vocal performance, and well-written songs, the question is, do we really need yet another doom project? Uljas Uusi Maailma is a pretty impressive and solid début but it breaks no new ground. Maybe album number two will see the band pushing it…
Track Listing:
- Minä Elän
- Kuun Lapset
- Nostos & Algos
- Roihusydän
- Etsin
- Ikiuni
- Uljas Uusi Maailma
- Aurinko
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
