RED MOON ARCHITECT – Concealed Silence
- Posted on 07-10-2012
When artists like Tuomas Saukkonen from Before The Dawn and Markus Vanhala of Omnium Gatherum/ Insomnium recommend a band, my eyes and ears perk up to take notice. Red Moon Architect comes from Finland, with RoutaSielu keyboardist Saku Moilanen founding the group. In this doom/ death act he handles the bass, drums and keyboards- rounding out the work with guitarist Juuso Turkki and vocalists Frans Aalto for the brutal growls and Anni Viljanen for the clean female melodies.
"Concealed Silence" could be considered an EP by song standards at five or a short full length album by timeframe standards at 29 minutes- but it is an exquisite, masterful look into the art of extreme doom/death with bone chilling atmosphere, tension, and moodiness. Frans handles the majority of the vocals, and he puts down some deep gruff death work that will grab your attention on "Abscond" and "Black Butterflies" especially. Musically the platform is doom metal through and through- often using Juuso’s sparse note feel to set up the devastating distortion riffs that carries the 10 minute plus "Funeral" to become one of the highlights of the record.
Swallow The Sun fans will enjoy the contrasts- but I also hear a little piece of The Gathering ("Mandylion" and "Nighttime Birds" recording period) in some of the haunting keyboard instrumental sections- and Frans’ delivery is one part Edge of Sanity, another part Solution .45, something that should appeal to the underground. Red Moon Architect will not be a lost, forgotten act- I’m hooked and can’t wait for future recordings to see where this melo-doom takes us.
Patience provides payoff. The well thrives in Scandinavia- ideas fruitfully multiplying and we as listeners would be wise to scoop up the best out of this creative environment. Red Moon Architect proves doom’s illuminating visions are worth their weight in the metal landscape.