Finnish blackened doom crew Fleshpress have the perfect title for sixth full length, ‘Hulluuden Muuri’. Unless you’re a Finnish speaker, however, you’ll have to trust to Google Translate to get the full effect – ‘The Wall Of Dread’. A fitting description of an album that looms large, presenting the listener with obstacles, daring to be conquered.
‘Lunastuksen Ajan Veren Riitti’ squeals and strains under feedback before sweeping into a blackened roll, mid-paced blast beats and droning synths cut through by rasping shrieks. Guitars lurch and skitter into a doomy processional riff, cymbals clanging. There’s a listing atonality to the guitars that set you, and keep you, firmly on edge, before a more chaotic drive sees us home. ‘Hulluuden Viiltävä Lasipinta’ (‘The Glorious Glass Of Plenty’) is bled into by the previous track, a shuddering, shifting noise that hints at distant, fuzzy melody. It’s acridly atmospheric, lowing bass and steady drums acting as rhythmic punctuation. Crowing, maddened vocals and jarring atonal notes join trilling tri-tones in a slowly descending riff, set among a backdrop of pure negative space.
‘Oikeamieliset’ echoes with alternating feedback, like a hellish siren, nightmarish vocals phasing and ghosting in; a screaming, unsettling soundscape. ‘Siintävän Totuuden Häikäisevä Kajo’ drones and grates mechanically, bursting into a sudden filthy BM crawl. Guitars gust icily, drums actively shifting and coiling, each layer keeping its distance. There’s a fractured, slightly mistimed descent, organic in its roughened edges, building to climactic tremolo and endlessly clattering snares.
‘Voiman Täydellinen Toteutuminen’ jangles with sluggish, almost country guitar notes that drip with feedback. Drums quickly fall into an oddly detached blastbeat, guitars wandering above, slightly aimless, ambling along at the opposite end of the aural range, a gulf between them. The drums are impressive; nearly mechanical, they seem constant and unchanging. Vocals suddenly explode, bass tolling. There’s a heavy focus on repetition and subtle, gradual change, almost like the band are jamming and riffing on ideas, forging them into something solid. Galloping drums and blazing tremolo fight a wall of layered screams before the album ends without warning, shockingly abrupt.
There’s a pleasing ‘lo-fi’ quality to the record, something ‘trve’ to the roots of the black metal scene. It gives instruments their own space to breathe, even if it leaves some of the sections lacking in true, weighty grunt, and the vocals have the same effects treatment applied to them throughout, which smacks of overuse. No matter, this is an engaging listen: gristly, challenging and atmospheric.
JAY HAMPSHIRE