OUR TWILIGHT

Barren Earth is as close to a super group as Finnish metal has ever seen, gathering together musicians from such respected groups as Amorphis, Swallow the Sun, Moonsorrow, Rytmihäiriö and Kreator. While super groups are often seen as big ego, big buck cash-ins, there's no sign of that here, perhaps because with this kind of music big bucks never enter the picture.

Our Twilight is the group's debut EP, released in 2009 by Peaceville Records, and it succesfully shows at least part of the essence of the band on its four tracks. Knowing the members' previous bands it's no suprise that the big picture is very much epic death metal, complete with some clean vocals, very prominent piano and even some good old fashioned keyboard soli. The heaviness is heavy, the melodies are bold, the vocals are cold and the couple of guitar soli thrown in are pretty damn great.

Compared to the full lenght released in early 2010 these songs are much more straightforward metal with very few actually light sections. This is a very good introductory release giving a taste of what's to come, but on the actual album they would expand their dynamic range to a great effect.

(Originally written for MetalMusicArchives)

"Our Twilight" is an EP release by Finnish doom/death metal act Barren Earth. The EP was released through Peaceville Records in November 2009. Barren Earth was formed in 2007 by bassist by Olli-Pekka Laine (Amorphis). He had composed material which didn´t fit any of the other projects he was involved in and decided to form a band to record his material. Having been a member of Amorphis from 1990-2000, Laine had been an integral part of the Finnish metal scene and had many contacts within the scene, which made it possible for him to recruit seasoned musicians like guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö (Waltari, Kreator), lead vocalist Mikko Kotamäki (Swallow the Sun), guitarist Janne Perttilä (Põhjast, Rytmihäiriö, Moonsorrow), drummer Marko Tarvonen (Moonsorrow, October Falls), and keyboard player Kasper Mårtenson (Amorphis) for the project.

The EP features 4 tracks and a total playing time of 22:26 minutes. Stylistically this sounds very much like mid-90s Amorphis, which of course makes sense, since two of the members of that band from that time are part of the lineup on "Our Twilight". This is doom/death metal with 70s progressive rock leanings and strong, epic, and melancholic melodies. There is a touch of Scandinavian folk too, and again it´s hard not to think of mid-90s Amorphis. The vocals are predominantly death metal growls, but there are also several clean sung parts on the EP. Barren Earth are obviously both seasoned and skilled musicians, and "Our Twilight" reeks professionalism that you won´t find on many debut releases. Although the band don´t often stray from their musical path, the addition of Yli-Sirniö to the lineup, does result in a couple of more unconventional musical ideas (it would be strange if a member of Waltari didn´t act out just a little bit), but they are incorporated successfully into the main musical style of the album.

"Our Twilight" is a heavy and atmospheric release, and that´s one of the greatest strengths of the EP. Barren Earth balance brutal heavy doom/death metal parts with their 70s progressive rock influences very well and creates a big epic soundscape in the process. All tracks are enjoyable and memorable compositions, but I have to mention EP closer "Floodred" for it´s death metal brutality and epic clean sung parts, and "Jewel" for it´s progressive middle section. The sound production is massive, layered, and ensures the right environment for the material to shine, and upon conclusion "Our Twilight" is a quality first release by Barren Earth. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)