RED MOON ARCHITECT – Fall
- Posted on 01-07-2015
Founded as a solo project by drummer/ keyboardist Saku Moilanen, the band has expanded to a full-fledged five-piece in the time between the debut album "Concealed Silence" and the current follow up "Fall". Employing two vocalists for clean melodies in Anni Viljanen and harsh growls with Juuso Turkki, Red Moon Architect entice through their melodic death/ doom metal style, the contrast of beauty within the crushing heaviness to give all listeners substance for sustenance.
Three of the first four tracks eclipse the seven minute mark – as to be expected in this type of brooding, ever-evolving template – and each possess remarkable moodiness amidst the contrasts. "The Other Side" for instance opens with clean, sparse guitar work before Juuso’s roar and Anni’s angelic range volley against the doom riffs, while "A Wish for a Tear" often allows Saku’s subtle keyboard passages during the verses to speak volumes before the next Matias Moilanen guitar riff to penetrate the aural landscape. The middle of the record contains shorter arrangements (if you call 4:12 – 5:51 short), of which "Isolated" and "This Won’t Fade" gave me the most chills to the good – the latter probably the closest to a Red Moon Architect ballad as you’ll hear in their discography.
Closer "My Curse" has a repetitive piano refrain that along with the underpinned keyboards and guitars makes me think of classic Swallow the Sun, Red Moon Architect make music that channels all those swirling worries, fears, and stresses that enter life and cleanses for a better understanding of personal connection. There is a reason why Scandinavia is doing just fine in the metal world – and "Fall" will be sure to hit many of the year end best of playlists for consumers as well as critics.
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