Ikuinen Kaamos –
Since I received this 3 song CDr demo from Finland’s Ikuinen Kaamos an eternity ago, the band has gone on to be signed and released their debut full-length this past year, “The Forlorn” on Descent Productions. I’m afraid this happens a lot more than I care to admit around here… So many titles come in and get placed on the review rack, that some truly moving material slips through the cracks since there aren’t enough hours in the day to properly listen to everything. Better late than never I suppose! Ikuinen Kaamos compose highly melodic black metal that benefits from a full production and a member roster that is complete and all brimming with a distinct talent to bring to the band. This alone seems to be an oddity in the Finnish black metal scene. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a tireless fan of the underground BM movement in Finland, but most of those bands consist of 1 or 2 members each that do a lot of moonlighting in other underground 1 or 2 man bands. If you like the aesthetic, great, for there’s a lot of sameness to be had within the Finnish realm of black metal. Ikuinen Kaamos maintains a definite underground vibe, while offering their own strain of uniqueness and style. A clean blasting speed is at the foundation of each of these tracks where dueling guitar harmonies and melody soaked tremolo riffage hurl each track into a fit of endlessly memorable song ideas that I found sticking in my head after only a few listens. Add a discernable, yet higher register black metal rasp to the firestorm and you have a very well considered and impressive wealth of material. All this is missing is some tasteful soloing to further set Ikuinen Kaamos apart from their peers, but it seems that the band chose for the catchy nature within the riffs themselves to do all the talking. You can hear every drum/cymbal on the kit, distinct bass and guitar lines all feeding off of each other and congealing into a swarm of very potent Finnish blackness. Imagine a more underground, less polished and more Finnish sounding version Dawn (Swe) and you will have some idea what to expect here. I will be looking for a copy of the full-length for sure. – Marty
IKUINEN KAAMOS
http://personal.inet.fi/musiikki/ikuinenkaamos/index.htm
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