ALBUM REVIEW: Lidless – Humavoid
The frozen plains of Finland have always played host to a divergent crowd of metal royalty with CHILDREN OF BODOM, NIGHTWISH and APOCALYPTICA representing a worthy yet understated lineup of the northern Nordic’s potential. With that in mind, the novelties of jazz-fused prog metal from HUMAVOID is yet another arrow to Finland’s ever-bulging quiver – a palpable breath of fresh air to bring some nuance to our arduous lockdown routines. The band’s latest LP, Lidless, wields an almighty palette of sound and it would take a fool to deny the intrigue that accompanies the record’s itinerant soundscape. Slotting themselves between the keytar antics of VOYAGER and the vocal dynamics of JINJER, Lidless’ strengths lie at its core of complexity and vibrance; unfortunately, these are qualities not always utilised to their full potential across what could have been a record to truly carry the label of ‘progressive’ metal.
Though this may not be the band’s first batch of tracks to see light, opener Fortunate For Demise demonstrates HUMAVOID’s eagerness to display their highly-tuned sound. From the get-go, the band puts out a ballistic welcome mat with gruesome eight-string riffs and spurts of spritely keytar that pose a dichotomous mix of harsh lows and hopeful highs. Despite key arrangements becoming less of a rarity within the metal spectrum, vocalist and keytarist Suvimarja Halmetoja does plenty to avoid reinventing the wheel or being delegated the supporting role to Niko Kalliojarvi’s guitar-slinging. Instead, Halmetoja is often playing the offensive, supplementing the drive of guitar and bass by adding an explosive sense of colour and a creeping sense of fear with the latter explored through unsettling sirens and wails. By synthesising these two opposites of extremities, Lidless may present teething issues to first listeners but this does result in repeated listens being all the more rewarding.
This two-faced approach, also expressed through the back and forth of clean to distorted vocals, represents HUMAVOID‘s largest selling point as their dexterous musicianship is given space to show a dynamic range of moods. Fortune For Demise, along with the title track, pack sheer ferocity, with unrelenting vice-grips between Halmetoja and Kalliojarvi’s vocal spears whilst Aluminium Rain and Matter craft a much bleaker arena, the latter boasting a masterful mid-section of celestial design that eventually leads us to Heikki Malmberg’s rampant drum solo. Malmberg, in particular, is a perfect backbone for Lidless‘ disarray of sound, keeping the chaos organised with energetic polyrhythms that match the elements of jazz-fusion brought by Halmetoja’s skittish keytar.
From a birds-eye view, nothing is really missing from Lidless‘ formula. The band even cover enough bases to include two Inside interludes, both genuinely unsettling key-led pieces, that temper the record’s thirst for constant mayhem. Undercurrent and Drywall Cracks make up the finishing blows as two seven-minute pieces where HUMAVOID‘s creative propensity is truly let loose and gives the record a deserved finale. Notice that while these are certainly ‘great’ qualities – a variety in tone, great production, adept songwriting – these have not coalesced as a ‘great’ album. Lidless is a ‘very good’ album, it just so happens to fall flat at some rudimentary hurdles.
The album’s most blatant folly is that it simply isn’t as memorable as it is technically proficient. There’s no doubt that Lidless is something to listen to in awe, and holds great additions to the band’s setlist portfolio, but a number of facets rob the band of that moreish replay value. For one, the band’s skill to write intricate melodies and polyrhythmic grooves don’t translate into the all-important chorus – some are let down by laughable backing vocals while the rest fall away into ambiguity off the back of Halmetoja’s vocal delivery.
She is no doubt a great singer and is as technical as her ability to shred the keytar, but her melodies (both clean and distorted) lack the emotional bite to give hooks that addictive urgency. This wouldn’t be such an issue if the track’s memorability was countered by the leading riffs. The riffs are crushing and technical but lack character and can seem stretched thin by the album’s latter half on tracks like What You Hide and The Breathing Method where things can seem a little dime a dozen; as such there are few that commit themselves to memory. These certainly limit the album’s greater appeal but should not be considered as particularly lethal to the overall impact.
HUMAVOID makes a great case for their emerging stance within the progressive metal scene, their technical proficiency ablaze across Lidless‘ eye-widening vistas. It presents the expected teething problems of a first full-length outing but these remains eclipsed by a more formidable, and more exciting spark of potential. Off the back of their own creative merit, there’s little doubt that the band can carve themselves secure real estate not only within their own realms of aggressive progressive but also amongst the esteemed titans of Finland. Having said that, HUMAVOID hasn’t quite hit their perfect balance, but then it isn’t often that gold is struck on the first swing and, sure enough, they certainly weren’t far off the mark.
Rating: 7/10
Lidless is out now via Noble Demon Records.
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