Syttyköön toinen aurinko

The melodic death metal apple has not fallen far from the tree. With Kaunis Kuolematon the apple is stained by doom and gothic elements, some might say. These guys play their melodic style of death metal in the vein of Swallow the Sun with their album “Emerald Forest And The Black Bird”, but therein ends the similarities to doom metal overall. I would describe Kaunis Kuolematon as a band that plays sad and crushing melodic death metal. The gothic part of the band is less apparent at this point and is melancholic and sad rather than something more directly gothic in nature. Understanding the Finnish lyrics make a big impact when listening to this band.

These experienced guys gave us their third full length record in 2020 after a near perfect EP released a year before. Now a couple of years later I come from a different approach to this record called “Syttyköön Toinen Aurinko”. Initially I was disappointed, but I’ve come to realize my own expectations for the band were simply unrealistic to be met by the band. So, I now have a clearer picture in my head how I feel about this record.

Starting with negatives, the weakest part of the album is the first 10 minutes which doesn’t really give any oomph to start the record other than being a longer intro. In the middle part of “Hautajaiset” it feels the band is no longer sleeping on the wheel and nicely introduces tremolo type of riffs coupled with growls and shrieks from Olli Saakeli Suvanto. The other negative about the record is that some fat could have been dropped off then again that would maybe take away from the atmosphere of the record as 52 minutes isn’t especially overlong either.

What I’ve come to appreciate about this record is how the band’s songwriting and sound have evolved and matured. Everything is more precise, focused and emphasized by a perfect production for this kind of melodic death metal. DNA of the band’s style and sound is very much the same as in their debut, but everything is turned up a couple of levels. Slow sections of songs with melodies are drawn out and contrasted with crushing riffs and growls in other sections make a bigger impact this time. Mikko Heikkilä’s clean vocals are as stellar as always.

On this record the band plays with a great deal of patience and it pays off in moments with melodies that have either acoustic guitar, keyboards or lead guitar work. “Paha Ihminen” and “Särkynyt” are great examples of this. From the mid-point onwards, the album is simply beautiful and emotional. Every song has elements that are thought out and I don’t feel like there is any gimmick or style that the band over does. Of course, creating catchy and memorable tunes with plenty of meat and bones is far from easy. These guys have a lot of ingredients right and I recommend giving them a chance. For fans of Black Sun Aeon, Dark the Suns and Swallow the Sun.