| Reviews for Kauan's Lumikuuro |
| One of the best albums I have ever heard - 100% |
| Written by hailmarduk666
on November 6th, 2008
|
| This album totally blew me away. I ordered it, and had to wait 2 weeks for it to get to America from Russia. It was a LONG wait. I had heard good things about this band through the music website Last.fm, and was anxious to hear it. There are many elements to this album, and the coolest thing (imo) is that it flows seemlessly. I put the album on repeat to give it a few spins and lo and behold, I had listened to it 3 times without realizing. It is mesmerizing, completely captivating, with the rich keyboard ambience in the background, light, slow-moving guitars in the foreground which are accompanied by a beautiful array of piano/keyboard melodies. There are so many influences I feel as if I fail to point them all out, they fade in and out throughout the album. For instance, there is folky violin parts, similar to almost Vali, and beautiful piano parts, with spacious atmosphere, along the Coldworld line. Then there is the raspy ghostly vocals that Anton provides, but his clean vocals are very nice as well, similar to Agalloch in ways and similar almost to Falkenbach in others. The way that everything came together in this album is just beautiful, and it really sucked me in. I have a hard time thinking when I listen to this band because I am entranced by the beautiful melancholic melodies and swirling effects of how it fades in and out from piano soliloquy, to crescendos of ambient-influenced doom metal. This album is a masterpiece, and as stated by other reviewers, it is just a matter of time before this "treasure" is found and shown to the world at large. |
| Deserving. - 92% |
| Written by Perplexed_Sjel
on August 11th, 2008
|
| Russia, the largest country in the world, is home to many obscure bands that have either gotten lost in time, or just never been found. As far as I’m aware, Kauan, a Russian crossover band, come into the category of bands that have merely yet to be discovered. Hopefully, adding a positive review on top of the one already written will increase the popularity of this band and this record, ‘Lumikuuro’. Of course I’m not so arrogant as to believe my review will change the stature of this band in such a profound way that an entirely new fan base opens itself up to Kauan’s music, but I do hope, perhaps in vain, that at least a few people will pick up on this diverse Russian metal act. Diversity is the key to the fantastic sound we’re displayed with here. ‘Lumikuuro’ is, according to the Metal Archives page, “ an eclectic album which has incorporated such different styles as dark-folk, black-metal and doom-metal. In "Lumikuuro" it is possible to find echoes of Shape Of Despair music ('Shades Of...' period), Agalloch, early Empyrium and Tenhi.” Although I don’t agree with the comparisons, I would like to state that that is a good thing. Kauan, to me, appear to have their own unique sound, which is special to them and them alone. Whilst I don’t hear obvious similarities to the aforementioned bands, I do suppose the influences are subtle, which is a positive. In the metal industry today, it is far too easy to be branded a ‘clone’, a word many fans of the industry use. Kauan’s style doesn’t allow for them to be easily compared to anyone. Their style is creative, diverse and innovative in terms of the genres they play within, black, doom and folk metal. The subtlety on display is perhaps the most endearing aspect of this record. It’s not an obnoxious piece. It knows it’s direction and it goes there without fuss, by way of awesome song writing and two talented musicians. As the previous reviewer stated, there is a priority slapped on the use of the keyboards, which create spaced out melodies in the same way a piano would, if played in high notes. The use of high notes doesn’t ever annoy. In actual fact, they enhance the beauty which flows throughout the record, from song to song. The heavy influence of the keyboards is divine. It is nice to see a band, particularly an obscure one, use an instrument so well because the effect of the keyboards can often be lost behind the wall of distortion the black metal influenced guitars adopt. Whilst there is a noticeable black metal influence on ‘Lumikuuro’, the other genres incorporated into the mix are by far more subtle about there influence on the lush soundscapes. To me, the doom aspects are conveyed to the audience in the general slow tempo that the instrumentation takes. The guitars rarely, if ever, pick up speed. The idea seems to be to create a number of spectacular soundscapes, which depict a beauty in life. The lyrics, which are in Finnish, deal with the concept of nature, so the often symphonic sound, which is created and driven by the keyboards and the folk inspired sound which comes from the violins as well as the keyboards, is the perfectly situated beside the lyrics as the instrumentation often conjures up images of a beauty in nature. Vast landscapes, divine beauty in the shape of mountains and other such aspects in nature that leave one both inspired and speechless. The programming has a lot to do with the awe inspiring sound too, one must not forget. The highly talented Anton Belov must gain a lot of the credit for this creation. Whilst Lyubov Mushnikova’s violin skills draw the listeners attention to the folk elements which often portray the sad and sorrowful textures and tones to the record, Anton Belov takes creative control on all other elements. From the repetitive and slow turning guitars, to the fantastic use of keyboards and then, of course, his vocals. Whilst his typical black metal rasps may not seem like anything out of the ordinary, one has to remember that keeping such an aggressive sounding vocal display in touch with the beauty of the instrumentation is difficult and he does it well, slowing down his rasps to an almost doom metal like growl and including lush clean vocals, which stand beside the stunning clean instrumentation well. Whilst elements like the bass don’t play much of a pivotal role in making this record a success, they’re still there. Backing up the main leads of the guitar and ultimately, displaying the sorrow in the beauty that transpires before us. Despite the fact that there are a few negatives on this record, don’t allow that to turn you off listening to this marvellous crossover piece. The outstanding beauty in songs like ‘Aamu Ja Kaste’ and ‘Koivun Ela’ are too precious to ignore. Cannot wait for the next record. |
| Piano Ballads Backed With Black Metal?! - 80% |
| Written by Shirt_Guy
on July 23rd, 2008
|
| In the world of underground music, I hear some strange combinations of music. This is a case where there’s a small portion of black metal, such as the raspy vocals, and cold stark guitars are making their way into the mix, while the majority of the album is nearly ambient, light, music, like strings, with a heavy focus on piano ballads. While some of you might be thinking this would be related to symphonic black metal, the end result actually ends up quite different. These not-so-heavy jaunts would certainly fit in a setting up north in a snowing atmosphere just like Russia, exactly where Kauan is from. You can just imagine the music playing along in a 70‘s Bond film, the pianos fluttering and strings vibrating to build up to the romance scene in a Swiss villa - then here comes the stabbing buzz of black metal guitars and raspy vocals into the mix. As strange as it might sound, the combination actually works together in a weird sort of romanticism, much like doom, although this case is very far off from what many would consider doom, yet holds the same ideals, such as the romantic, yet depressing atmosphere, and the very slow tempos. At the times, the keyboards that have to emulate every instrument other than vocals, guitars, and the drums can sound pretty hokey, but much of that is made up for with the bands passion to try to do the best they can with what they’ve got. “Lumikuuro” is an interesting and mind altering experience, and I can’t wait to hear that this band would offer with more money to back their next recording. Originally posted at http://www.waytooloud.com |