Off Records (2009)

The majestic cascading strings lull you into a dream state before the second minute guitar distortion kicks into gear - rolling into a death doom epic that starts this album in an eight minute flash - otherwise known as “A Hearse With No Name”. Soulfallen hail from Finland, and as a quartet play a furious brand of melodic dark metal- but more melodic in terms of the riffing and definitely darker in terms of the death/ blackened vocal approach. The persistent chugging within the mid-tempo “Devour” for instance brings to mind Before The Dawn, which turns out to be an ironic touch as vocalist Lars Eikind makes a guest clean vocal appearance on the closer “We Are The Sand”.  Otherwise bassist Kai Leikola handles the word load quite savagely, bellowing out the chorus for “To The Wolves At My Door” as if being dipped in a vat of acid.

Essentially Soulfallen give guest keyboardist Hannu Honkonen ample room to fill in the melancholic atmosphere while also sprinkling the orchestral touch on standout tracks like “”This World Is Bleeding Flies” (possible song title of the year) and “Embrace The Scythe”. If I had to compare their sound to anyone of note, I would say Swallow The Sun seems like a great reference point, although Soulfallen veer into much more underground exploration with their screams and progressive clean/open/ distortion guitar technique. The title track for instance has some dancing piano moments for the instrumental section while the drums and bass intertwine with a slow off time doom movement. I read on their official website the need for this second album to explore extremes in their music to deeper directions, and I certainly feel they’ve produced a bone-chilling metal album here.

The stark cover portrait eases you into an act we won’t forget in our lifetime. The only problem I foresee is their multi-genre approach could be a tough sell to the casual listener of doom, death or black metal. “Grave New World” could wake the dead, you’ll feel better after this bitter blast from Finland chills you to the bone.

www.soulfallen.com
www.offrecords.fi

Composed by Matt Coe