ALBUM REVIEW: Emptiness Weighs The Most – Red Moon Architect
Finnish doom metallers, RED MOON ARCHITECT are back with their latest effort Emptiness Weighs The Most after showcasing their strong song-writing ability on previous album Return Of The Black Butterflies.
Doom metal, especially atmospheric doom metal is a tough one to get right. The album has to walk a tightrope between being heavy but also melodic. There needs to be enough down-tuned guitar work featured but it also needs to sparkle with harmony and epic synths. Emptiness Weights The Most starts off with the best of intentions but ends up falling flat, mainly due to the undecipherable vocals from Ville Rutanen which are quite off-putting and draws your attention away from the instrumentation, rather than allowing the music to make its stand on its own. When the instrumentals are leading the charge, the melodies are well-worked but the riffs are quite uninspired and forgettable.
Next track Rise, sees the introduction of clean female vocals by Anni Viljanen and feel much more fitting over the driving guitars. That is until the growled vocals come back in. While the idea of the Beauty and the Beast vocals can be appealing in this genre, they do feel quite jarring. A quarter of the way through the album and you start to wonder whether it will really connect together and thankfully it does.
One Shines Brighter ends up being a turning point for the album. You’ll start to focus more on the beauty of the music mixed with the cleanly sung vocals. When the growled vocals come in but this time hit at the same time as the female vocals, you start to hear what they were aiming for. They bounce off one another well and the use of them sparingly turns out to be the best move for the album going forward. The keys are bright but mix well with the melancholic guitar work and shine through brilliantly towards the conclusion. Into The Light again shows off what RED MOON ARCHITECT are capable of. The subtle drum work during the verses are underrated and the tight riffing thunders the track along. Anni’s higher notes over the growls in the chorus are inspired and adds to the monumental soundscape they are able to create.
The longest track on the album, Reform, has one of the most memorable intros and its gorgeous mix of keys and dark chords echo into the first verse with ease. You will notice that throughout the back end of the album that the clean vocals are pushed more to the forefront and is all the better for it. The choruses that are sung together are a joy to listen to and it no longer feels like they are fighting one another for domination over the tracks. It may be pushing seven mins long but it never feels like it drags its heels.
RED MOON ARCHITECT save one of the best for last on Emptiness with My Beloved. A haunting, soulful, brooding track that features impressive, flowing piano work with Anni’s beautiful vocals softly flowing over the top. Halfway through the track the rest of the band makes a dramatic appearance and adds to the overall power of the song which eventually fades out calmly to end the record.
After a rough start, Emptiness Weighs The Most is saved by the duality of the vocals and the atmosphere created throughout the album as it progresses. Without those aspects, this album could have easily been another throw-away doom metal record but if you’re willing to push through the uninspired beginning then you will be treated to some heart-wrenching atmospheric heaviness.
Rating: 7/10
Emptiness Weighs The Most is out now via Noble Demon Records.
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