A pretty, yet long, poetic band name is As The Sun Falls, a band that I had the pleasure of reviewing their “Pohjoisen Sydän” album last year. The band’s unique blend of Melodic Death Metal and Folk Metal with lots and tons of melodic, and melancholic, passages got me and it still does as I listen to their newest release “From The Veil.” Interestingly, that happens in a time that I was starting to think Melodic Death Metal was kind of worn out. “Pohjoisen Sydän” proves me not.
The great thing As The Sun Falls do here is the balance bewteen the aggression and the melody, however, the melody here is not that melody we are used to, it is a kind of melody blended with melancholy. Sorrow would be the more exact term to express the feeling As The Sun Falls‘s music passes the fan. Even faster tracks as “Daughter Of The Air” showcases this feeling, but only a few less intense. It is following track “A Shimmer On The Tides“ that embodies this spirit better and, my guess, it is the song that shows best the band’s present music as it incorporates some Folk Metal features. From the press release we get that “From The Veil” is a deeply rooted album into Nordic mythology and old beliefs as the Soulbird (Sielulintu), ancient creation myths, the shadowed realms of the afterworld, and the legendary Fire Fox, whose burning tail is said to set the northern skies alight. The band sounds to be missing a lot those times. That’s what I get from all the songs. The name for this feeling is anemoia, a profound, often melancholic feeling of nostalgia for a time, place, or era that you have never actually lived through or experienced yourself. “From The Veil” is about this. “As Night Devours“ supports this idea.
An album with so many complex emotions as “From The Veil” make me remind what I have been defending here for almost ten years. My point here is that Metal music is a kind of catalyst of human emotions. Metal albums deal with almost all human emotions one way or another. Metal albums are a reunion of, let’s say, emotions as they gather a group of songs that may or may not share the same themes, or emotions so to say. This album culture that stil permeate Metal music allows bands to do so. Albums as “From The Veil” are a great example.
As The Sun Falls “From The Veil” was released on May 22nd via Theogonia Records.
Track Listing:
01. Daughter Of The Air (feat. Gogo Melone & Joel Notkonen)
02. A Shimmer On The Tides
03. As Night Devours
04. A Million Stars Ashine
05. Below A Pale Tree
06. 9 Days Of Sorrow
07. Burning Snow
08. Silent Waters (feat. Gogo Melone)
09. Blood To The Soil
10. Sielulintu
Watch “As Night Devours” official lyric video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!