MESTARIN KYNSI

"Mestarin Kynsi" is the 5th full-length studio album by Finnish, Tampere based act Oranssi Pazuzu. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in April 2020. It´s the successor to "Värähtelijä" from 2016 but although there have been four years between the two album releases, Oranssi Pazuzu have not layed low in those years as they released the 2019 Waste of Space Orchestra collaboration album "Syntheosis". An album where Oranssi Pazuzu collaborated with members of fellow countrymen Dark Buddha Rising. There´s been one lineup since the predecessor as guitarist Moit has been replaced by Ikon.

Stylistically the material on "Mestarin Kynsi" is psychadelic blackened rock/metal, influenced by 60s/70s krautrock and spacerock artists like Hawkwind, (early) Pink Floyd, and Can, but with an occasional metallic edge and black metal type screaming vocals (screaming out Finnish language lyrics). The music is raw, repetitive, and hypnotic in nature. Sometimes building from a low volume opening to a loud noisy climax, and other times just full-on rocking from the opening to the end of the track (an example of the latter is the closing track "Taivaan Portti").

The sound production is not lo-fi, but it´s deliberately made to sound like it was recorded live in the band´s rehearsal space, while all the members of the band were trippin´ on bad acid. It´s a savage nightmarish affair which sounds like it was born from endless drug-fueled jamming. There are both mellow and more noisy moments on the album, and some of the latter are so noisy and messy that the wall of sound of drums, two guitars, bass, organ, and vocals, drown each other out, and has the effect that the music becomes a white noise drone (again "Taivaan Portti" comes to mind as a good example of that). I´m sure it´s exactly the effect the band were aiming at, but it´s not for the faint at heart, and it´s not exactly easily accessible music.

So "Mestarin Kynsi" is an album to the listener who enjoys jam-like, repetitive, and hypnotic music. There is structure here, but not regular vers/chorus structures. It´s continuously moving and evolving structures and you´ll have to listen a long time for reoccuring themes or conventional hooks. In that respect the material on "Mestarin Kynsi" is highly experimental, which of course isn´t a surprise if you´re familiar with the band´s preceding releases or their influences. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)