Band:	Kuolemanlaakso
Album:	Kuusumu
Style:	Death doom metal
Release date:	March 2022

01. Pimeys Laski
02. Katkeruuden Malja
03. Surusta Meri Suolainen
04. Kuohuista Tulisten Koskien
05. Surun Sinfonia
06. Pedon Vaisto
07. Tulessakävelijä

So, you’re in the market for an album full of moody melancholy and memorable melodies, yet still devastating heaviness? Of course you are, so look no further than the admirably ambitious, wonderfully versatile, professionally performed and produced Kuusumu. TL:DR; practically perfect.

I was wondering about when a new album would properly floor me, but my wait is clearly over, along with my worries. Kuolemanlaakso (Death Valley) released their previous album, Tulijoutsen (The Fire Swan), eight years ago, and while it was warmly received by Apothecary, I found it owing a lot to the always impeccable vocal delivery of Mikko Kotamäki (Swallow The Sun). Come Kuusumu (Moon Fog), every musician involved shines brightly, as do band leader Markus Laakso’s endlessly engaging compositions. With a shift towards a more melodic, upbeat, and varied style, along with notable improvements in arrangements, confidence, and production value, Kuolemanlaakso secure themselves a proper place in the major leagues.

We could not live without the Sun or manage without the moonlight. Imagine waking up one morning to find the sky and ground having overnight turned as pitch black as the chunks of soot and rock bleeding from the heavens. Imagine the Sun reduced to a foggy, pale blue moon obscured by an ashen extending far beyond the horizon, so dim you can no longer see your own shadow. Imagine a perpetual, freezing cold rendering crops, cattle, woods, and ground lifeless. Imagine having to wait in anticipation for your neighbours, friends, and family to die before you starve, so you won’t have to kill them before eating them. Imagine killing and eating the lone survivor from the town next over infecting you with a plague currently raging across Europe. Imagine this cataclysm taking place around 550 AD, with no other explanation for the harrowing decades to follow being a punishment by the gods, and your account of these experiences being unearthed 1500 years later and used as the best possible concept for a metal album.

"Pimeys Laski" (The Darkness Fell) opens the album with a gorgeous, classical-inspired piano section paving the way for a crunchy, ominous doom riff adorned with a weeping guitar lead. A melodic bass and minimalistic drums support Mikko's trademark roaring growls, baritone vocals, and deep, blackened shrieks. His performance feels more energetic and inspired than his Swallow The Sun stuff, though this might admittedly just be due to me much more enjoying the straightforward and deathly hard rocking sound on offer here over the atmospheric, melancholic vibe of the former band. Repetition is always very welcome when the repeated parts are this engaging, but towards the end of “Pimeys Laski”, Kuolemanlaakso throw us the first of many curveballs and, without warning, morph the song into a fast-paced, danceable assault punctuated by percussive, poetic grunting. I find death/doom metal to often end up being predictable, monotone, or simply boring, but Kuolemanlaakso have many tricks up their sleeves, and throughout the album consistently transcend genre boundaries as they go out of their way to ensure there's not a stale moment from start to finish.

I mean it! There's not a superfluous nor underdeveloped idea; not a misplaced or underdeveloped section on Kuusumu. The songwriting is simply masterful, with its continuous twists and turns making for uninterrupted entertainment. Therefore, I feel the need to give each of the seven tracks here a mention, while trying not to spoil too much the plethora of surprises in store for the first of your likely numerous listenings. The first single, "Katkeruuden Malja" (The Cup Of Misery) follows the upbeat ending to the opening song with a pounding post-punk beat and slick, gothic riffing behind storytelling harsh vocals, deceivingly setting up for a playfully catchy yet curiously off-beat chorus courtesy of Lotta Ruutiainen (Luna Kills) that caught me very much by surprise and quickly burrowed itself into my memory. Again switching it up with Mikko's baritone, melancholic singing for much of “Surusta Meri Suolainen” (The Sea, Salty By Sorrow), that yet ends on a mid-paced meloblack note, expectations will be properly crushed, attention will be properly deserved, and you'll be left simply enjoying being along for the ride.

"Kuohuista Tulisten Koskien" (From The Seething Of Raging Rapids) piecewise captures an Elegy vibe (on which Amorphis incidentally have a song based on ancient poetry likely inspired by the same volcanic winter), where Markus’ lyrics in archaic Finnish serpent forth through Mikko’s tongue-twisting roars, reminding everybody which language is best for metal. Spoken-word is always a risky move, but the droning verses of “Surun Sinfonia” (Symphony Of Sorrow) are supported by the amazing keyboards by Aleksi Munter (ex-Swallow The Sun) and only serve to make the epic, martial chorus hit all the harder, and tops it off with an enchanting Celtic violin dirge. "Pedon Vaisto" (Beast's Instinct) is the only track that threatens to lower the average quality of the tracklist, but paired with its furious black metal assault at the end, the somewhat plodding sections preceding it gain purpose as effectively setting up for the big blast.

In the unforgettably hooky, mantric chorus of album closer "Tulessakävelijä" (The Walker-In-Fire), Mikko roars "Taivas on purppura / Pilvistä verta sataa" (The skies are purple / Blood is falling from the clouds). With this knowledge of the story behind, I find the mental images it paints to be irresistibly alien and epic. Well, what do you know? Right near the end of the album Kuolemanlaakso drop a doom riff with lurching, tribal drumwork so crushing it could serve as a bonesaw.

The most impressive aspect of Kuusumu is the variety and playful creativity that stops any of its seven tracks dead in their tracks towards Boredomtown, and it has a splendid production by V. Santura (Triptykon). I've replayed the album over fifteen times already in the past month and I do not see a single second of it at risk of getting the least bit old anytime soon. The only reason I am not giving it a 10/10 rating is that it is too new to have passed the Test Of Time™ yet. This masterpiece is out now on Svart Records, and I implore you to check it out, because this album is what metal is all about.