Woodsmoke

To be fully truthful, I remembered not liking this album the first listen... which is the reason I only listened to it once. I don’t really know what I was thinking, since this is great. This style of music, really isn’t for everyone, as it relies heavily on atmosphere, less on a basic structure of simple music. It’s definately something that I think we need more of in the world, however just isn’t accepted as a ‘good’ style of music by most. This is art in the form of music, and it’s definately somewhat of an ‘impressionist’ type piece.

I really believe that this album shouldn’t be multiple songs, I feel that each of the tracks are useless apart, but play a greater role synonymously. This is clearly meant to reflect a certain atmosphere created by nature, and it damn well does that job completely. The first four tracks are very similiar in structure; Very much lead with a similiar sounding Kantele melody, and basslines, as well as ethereal drumming. The drumming is basically hidden and coexists with the music, without much power over the tune at all. It’s incredibly integrated into the music, and makes everything feel nice and paced. As soon as Summer Storm comes along, everything changes a little bit. The Kantele, though played just as prominantly as the past songs, is played at a convincingly different melody, and has a lot more breaks than before. This instrument is the single most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s so unbelievably captivating, and awe-inspiring, you’ll not help but get shivers with every note that gets played.

When listening to this, I imagine animals running in slow motion, being animals. I imagine flowing water, with leaves fluttering down a rushing stream. I picture a large bird soaring over a massive rock formation. Rabbits hopping about, living life without a care. I see untouched land, beautiful, free, and without the taint of the human race. Never has one band given me this imagery with just the sounds of instruments and occasional vocals. The vocals I might add, though coming in very small doses, are very effective. They aren’t necessarily comprhensible, but it makes no difference, because chances are, what he’s saying is going through your head as the music plays ever so melodicly.

This album is not without flaws though. Because many of the melodies feel similiar, it tends to seem a bit old on subsequent listens, and, this is essentially the reason I would have preferred to see this as one track. If I’m getting multiple tracks, I would like to see more variation. That’s not saying the entire album is exactly the same, as there are points in the record where, the whole mood shifts, but that’s after two to four tracks of similiar sounding melodies.

In short, and overall, this album is a brilliant work of art. My biggest complaint is that it’s fairly short compared to many other albums in this style, and I just never want the sound of the Kantele to stop. If you are a fan of nature, ambient music, light folk music, or Agalloch... I recommend this to you. If you are a metal newbie, this may be hard to stomach properly.