DISCONNECTION COMPLETE

Because of the notable metal elements I'm a bit out of my comfort zone here, but this album is in every aspect so well done that I, as their countryman, am sincerely pleased to review it. CONFUSION FIELD is to a large degree a brainchild of one long-time musician. Apart from drums (Petri Honkonen) and lead guitars (Markus Jämsen), the music is entirely made by Tomi Kankainen. His former bands since the nineties include Waterfront Weirdos, Morningstar, Murder In Art and Heathen Hoof (only the first mentioned is familiar to me) that range from prog rock to death metal. Here he plays keyboards, bass and rhythm guitar, does the programming and sings. Let's start with the voice which is exceptionally good. As with the whole music, the vocals have triggered comparisons to RIVERSIDE. And deservedly so. I like the melancholic vibe in Tomi's singing which however completely steers away from the sense of depression and angst typical for heavy/metal -- well, there are some little distorted vocal parts with an extra edge, on 'Nothing Holds the Storm' for instance, but not too much. In my experience as a listener it's very rare indeed that a multi-intrumentalist and composer is such a good singer.

The music blends prog, pop and metal into a coherent modern style. The metal fans will enjoy the power and dynamics in the sound, and those who appreciate the spacier, Floydian elements are also kept content, not pushed off by too radical metal elements. The "pop" in the equation might be understood as a certain melodic sensibility and it's comparable to modern prog oriented acts such as LONELY ROBOT. Yes, I am backing the thoughts of the previous reviewer who mentions John Mitchell. The production -- without a producer outside the band -- is remarkably good. Lyrical themes deal with "psychological issues, reflecting the struggles and decisions of an individual in a modern world", to cite the promo sheet.

Perhaps somewhere along the 51-minute album I get a slight feeling of the songs reminding each other more than necessary, but remember I'm not really into heavy/metal prog and therefor I'm more vulnerable to this kind of feeling. Anyway, the eighth song 'Zen Garden Moment' offers calmness I had begun to miss during the preceding tracks. With a hint of David Sylvian in the sparse, atmospheric sound, I enjoy this melancholic song. The 8-minute 'Connecting the Dots' is a perfect album closer: with its sense of symphonic grandness and passion it's easily the highlight. During the Gilmouresque guitar solo I had an association to Pink Floyd's 'High Hopes'. All in all, this is modern Finnish heavy prog at its best, very good in the international level, and warmly recommended especially to fans of the likes of Riverside.