HYMNS FOR WILDERNESS

It's another female fronted Finnish band, though vocalist Henna Hietamäki sings in English....I think. What starts off promisingly in the vein of grungy HEXVESSEL meets post rockish THE GATHERING, ultimately falls short of those models due to the sameness of the arrangements, plodding rhythms, equally drudgy vocals and guitars, and mellotron ish keyboards that manufacture little atmosphere, sort of like a fog machine when you are in the last seat of a stadium just trying to make out who is where on the stage.

As I hinted, the summit is at the outset, "Harvest Maiden", though "Village on Fire" is also a welcome variant on the formula, the party crashed by a presumably uninvited mandolin. As far as the folk goes, it's coerced into the bathymetric depths for the duration, where it predictably lacks color and vision.

I would say there is probably an audience for DUST MOUNTAIN, so if the above sounds good to you I say go for it, but it won't be me who is singing "Hymns for Wilderness'" praises around here.