In my imagination the mission statement of Oranssi Pazuzu has always been derived from the essential cognition that the syllable psych is both part of the terms psychedelic and psychotic.
Considering this the ever-morphing Blackened beast from Finland couldn't be more consistent on its latest traumatic trip.
ORANSSI PAZUZU - Muuntautuja (CD) (2024)
All the trademarks are there once again: The ubiquitousness of Black Metal aggression and Psychedelic overflow. The endlessly spiraling angularity of weird beats, dissonant riffs and eery textures. Those inhumanly vocals with an incredible range of mentally unhealthy sounds...
From early on Oranssi Pazuzu have shaped themselves into a stunningly unique entity within the Extreme Metal kingdom, with each release solidifying and sharpening their profile, yet never safely repeating what they did the last time. "Muuntautuja" is no exception in that regard and sees the band continuing the path from the horror trip under the Northern Lights towards the claustrophobic terror of a dystopian mega city.
So this time the role of unsettling synths, weird electronic glitches, cold Industrial clanks, robotized vocal distortion, white noise - everything which adds civilizational angst - is even more prominent. There are several instances on the album, where the storm of sheer Noise becomes completely unreasonable, demolishing and swallowing everything in its way.
Oranssi Pazuzu's way of "easing" the listener into those completely bonkers excesses is to keep the rhythms comparatively simple. This music may be demanding, but despite the initial impression and the arrangements still being very complex, at least during the first half, you cannot blame einsteinian time signatures. The title track for example turns out to be based on a 4/4 Trip Hop beat. Yet almost every layer on top of the rhythm section is complete insanity.
It's only towards the end that also the measures dial up to brain-melt mode. At the same time the ten-minute core piece "Ikilkäärme" for a long time focusses much more on clean yet spooky guitar sounds and very laibachian piano work. And the closer "Vierivä Isva" abandons Metal almost completely in favour of a John Carpenter style dark Ambient instrumental. In the end the band always finds that sweet spot between abhorrent sounds embedded in an overwhelming unsettling atmosphere and just being intriguing and unbelievably good at whatever it even is they're doing.
Ultimately what makes "Muuntautuja" stand out in comparison to many other exceptional Extreme Metal albums on which bands are flexing their experimental muscles is that Oranssi Pazuzu have not only carved themselves their completely own niche; they don't even wait for other bands to catch up to their sound, but keep exploring and developing their unique space in exciting mind-fucking and annihilating ways. I have said before that I count the Finns among the most relevant innovators (and also greatest live bands) in Metal today - and this album only underscores that with a big black poisonous Sharpie.
There may be better Metal albums which have come out this year - I didn't listen to them all! -, but it's pretty safe to say that you don't need to call a friend to have enough fingers to count them. Murhaavan hyvä!
From early on Oranssi Pazuzu have shaped themselves into a stunningly unique entity within the Extreme Metal kingdom, with each release solidifying and sharpening their profile, yet never safely repeating what they did the last time. "Muuntautuja" is no exception in that regard and sees the band continuing the path from the horror trip under the Northern Lights towards the claustrophobic terror of a dystopian mega city.
So this time the role of unsettling synths, weird electronic glitches, cold Industrial clanks, robotized vocal distortion, white noise - everything which adds civilizational angst - is even more prominent. There are several instances on the album, where the storm of sheer Noise becomes completely unreasonable, demolishing and swallowing everything in its way.
Oranssi Pazuzu's way of "easing" the listener into those completely bonkers excesses is to keep the rhythms comparatively simple. This music may be demanding, but despite the initial impression and the arrangements still being very complex, at least during the first half, you cannot blame einsteinian time signatures. The title track for example turns out to be based on a 4/4 Trip Hop beat. Yet almost every layer on top of the rhythm section is complete insanity.
It's only towards the end that also the measures dial up to brain-melt mode. At the same time the ten-minute core piece "Ikilkäärme" for a long time focusses much more on clean yet spooky guitar sounds and very laibachian piano work. And the closer "Vierivä Isva" abandons Metal almost completely in favour of a John Carpenter style dark Ambient instrumental. In the end the band always finds that sweet spot between abhorrent sounds embedded in an overwhelming unsettling atmosphere and just being intriguing and unbelievably good at whatever it even is they're doing.
Ultimately what makes "Muuntautuja" stand out in comparison to many other exceptional Extreme Metal albums on which bands are flexing their experimental muscles is that Oranssi Pazuzu have not only carved themselves their completely own niche; they don't even wait for other bands to catch up to their sound, but keep exploring and developing their unique space in exciting mind-fucking and annihilating ways. I have said before that I count the Finns among the most relevant innovators (and also greatest live bands) in Metal today - and this album only underscores that with a big black poisonous Sharpie.
There may be better Metal albums which have come out this year - I didn't listen to them all! -, but it's pretty safe to say that you don't need to call a friend to have enough fingers to count them. Murhaavan hyvä!
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen