The Finnish five-piece are back with their second album At The Mountains of Madness.
Starting with The Expedition of Dr William Dyer, the band give an indication of what is to come. The music is haunting and moody. At The Mountains of Madness is the title track and it is areal heavy metal opus. Vocalist Lassi Landstrom powers through with some soaring epicness. Meanwhile, guitarists Ari Balzar and Jesse Liukkonen duel one another throughout the song creating a true masterpiece. The Final Hour is a mix of solid leads, and churning riffs, whilst the vocals create another epic. No Hope For Salvation is a groover, with the riffs creating a sense of foreboding the lyrics are prescient and epic.
Next is My Last Rites which begins with an acoustic lick, that gets anticipation building, with the sense that there is something quite epic about to happen. The song then moves into gear, it is furious and fast. Welcome To The Wasteland is metal at its finest, crunching riffs, a soaring guitar solo, and dark and heavy vocal lines to make everyone move in awe. Nightwalker keeps the momentum going, a punishing riff, a punishing drum pattern and a solid drive through on the vocals ensures that the band do not let go of your throat. Before The Night Is Done is animalistic, with some jungle drums and a subtle build up on the guitar before kicking into epic territory. Lassi really shines here.
Beast of Prey is furious in its intensity, the guitars hammer home on some of the most epic riffage that this reviewer has ever listened to. Lassi is on fire throughout, carving the perfect story and melody through is performance. Until The End is a mix of heaviness and casual calm, though the storm continues, the band churn through and ensure that at the end the listener is left demanding more. Falling Skies is another epic song that continues the knockout. A solid thumping punch here, a deafening crunch there. The song is the perfect follow up to Until The End. Crimson Shores is the longest song on the record, and it moves through various stages, slow, casual, brooding and heavy, to downright terrifying. A fitting closer to a brilliant album.
On this album, Crimson Day have solidified their reputation as the flag bearers of modern metal. Be sure to get this album, through their website: http://www.crimsonday.com/