DISAPPEAR IN BLUE

First off, I really hope that more listeners -- and also more metal-oriented reviewers than me! -- will finally notice this Finnish band with a notable expressive capacity. It's now over six years since Nauticus released their second album The Wait. For the most of that time they have been working on this new 78-minute monster of an album. According to them, "the departure of our singer caused a major delay on the release. In the end we decided to enlist the help of several guest vocalists and the finished product is without a doubt our most ambitious album yet." Agreed! The music is described as "a synthesis of weird/maniac song structures and sludgy progressive experimental rock with ethereal soundscapes".

'Magma' features Sakari Ojanen on vocals. This strong composition shows well the many strengths of Nauticus. Heaviness is not there just for the sake of metal, it intertwines effortlessly with the deep soundscape full of atmosphere. The album wastes no time in showing its many-sided nature, as the opener is followed by first of the three ethereal, ambient-oriented little instrumental pieces, 'Jesus of Lübeck', that seamlessly leads into an intensive Prog Metal piece 'Claimed by the Sea', one of the four tracks over 10 minutes in length. Again there are both growl-approaching power and some more nuanced moments in a dynamic balance.

The core quartet has two guitarists and no keyboardist, but they manage to create surprisingly colourful sounds containing Post- Rockish sonic ambiguity, with occasional synth-like brightness on guitars. Drummer and primary composer Tuomas Rajala plays piano or Glockespiel on a couple of tracks. More prog than metal oriented 'Singularity' is sung by Jyri Kuokka, who happily doesn't sound primarily a Heavy/Metal vocalist. 11-minute 'Arrival' kicks off with a burst of rage, but this track too is graced by wide dynamics and atmopsheric depth. Here and there the listener can also focus on the excellent bass/drum work.

The final song 'Glass Pyramids' gives the main vocals to Anette Kaukonen whose backing vocals earlier on the album didn't quite get the deserved spot. A pity then that her beautiful voice isn't at first central on this song either. But enough to make this one a highlight. As I'm more or less an anti-metal music listener, it comes as no surprise that I appreciate especially the ambient instrumentals as one important ingredient to this album. Despite my own zones of uncomfort and unfamiliarity concerning angry metal elements, I sincerely think this is a very good and excellently produced album in the experimental/post metal subgenre.