October Falls – The Womb of Primordial Nature (Moribund Records)
Friday, 15th March 2013
The career path of October Falls (the one-man project of Mikko Lehto) has taken the band from basic, somewhat unremarkable acoustic-driven folk metal to the more aggro, dense exploitation of epic melodic folk metal. Quite the string of adjectives there, but when it comes to defining the new approach of the project, it’s all-encompassing.
Much like Wolves in The Throne Room’s monumental Two Hunters, The Womb of Primordial Nature is divided into four songs
bearing the numerals I-IV. And also similar to the Washingtonians masterwork, this particular body of work is every bit as challenging and deep.
A concept based around unleashing primal nature within man when faced with adverse situations, The Womb of Primordial Nature exploits the man vs. nature battle that has become a theme within these realms. Here, Lehto makes it a point early on to introduce this new level of aggressiveness, front-loading the album with seismic blast portions and those swift, scathing melodies that are now at the core of epic black metal to further reinforce the album’s concept.
Lehto unfurls some truly serene melodies during the front part of “II” that wind and dive between priceless acoustic bits. The reliance on these melodies fully exploits the overall epic nature of the album, so much so that “II” becomes the anchor for the entire album. It’s every bit as striking and sideways as Two Hunters, perhaps even moreso.
This focus shift that initially started with last year’s The Streams of the End is sure to reap immediate dividends for October Falls. While most of us can smell a fraud a mile away, Lehto’s entrance into the epic BM fray is a welcome one and if his words are any indication, this partnership should be long-lasting and ultimately, fruitful.
http://octoberfalls.darkhorizon666.com/
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)
