VÄRÄHTELIJÄ

Oranssi Pazuzu began as a near-perfect fusion of black metal and campy psychedaelia. I loved the debut when it came out back in 2009. As much as I enjoyed them early on however, I don't think I would have ever predicted just how far they could take the sound. The early Oranssi Pazuzu material was fascinating by the merit of the band's authentic dedication to genre-blending. By 2013's Valonielu and especially now with Värähtelijä, it finally feels like Oranssi Pazuzu have become so grounded in their sound that it no longer feels like a forceful gimmick. For these guys, dipping into the kosmic and hellishly surreal is second-nature routine.

It's a great experience to listen to Oranssi Pazuzu's albums in chronological order. Although their style has shifted a bit along the psych/space/kraut axis, it's their confident grasp that changed the most. I felt like they finally fleshed out their substance through songwriting on Valonielu. By comparison, Värähtelijä has taken far more time for me to get into. Since it "clicked", I've realized that slow burn was a result of OP having brought themselves up to a brand new stage in their evolution. Akin to the way Kosmonument opened up and spaced out the palette of the debut, Värähtelijä does the same for the tight focus on Valonielu. This time, the band are plunging forth with a much greater sense of direction even in the sparsest moments, and the evolution has boded well for virtually every facet of their sound.

Värähtelijä is probably the most engaging metal album I've heard this year so far, and that's saying a lot. I wasn't always so warm on it. The first couple of times hearing this latest record, I surprisingly wasn't grabbed. Maybe I'd been expecting something with the songwriting heft of Valonielu; it's even possible I just wasn't in the mood for a space-black attack the first time it hit my lobes. Regardless, Värähtelijä has proved to be the biggest grower of the year for me. Where early on I was quick to call it their least engaging album to date, I'm glad I was quickly put in my place.

Värähtelijä is a total masterpiece, and this may be the first instance where referring to the band as "masters" really rings true. As their sound's expanded, they've gained tighter reins on the style. While "Hypnotisoitu viharukous" and "Havuluu" develop their always stellar heavy side, the boldest improvements arrive in the psychedelic jams. The sparse atmospheric movements on Muukalainen puhuu even somewhat up to Valonielu occasionally ran the risk of sapping the album's momentum. Värähtelijä features some of the sparsest, most ambient material yet, but I've only appreciated it more each time I hear it. They meticulously curate their soundscapes with the same intensity they offer their fuzzy riffs and blackened noise. It's nowhere so apparent as on the 17-and-a-half minute long centrepiece "Vasemman käden hierarkia". The crunchy krautrock riffs ultimately give way to wide-open dark ambiance. It's like the would-be soundtrack to some psychedelic sci-fi horror film. I guess the same could be said for their work on Muukalainen puhuu as well. However, where the spook factor early on was mostly campy fun, here, the terror is very real.

Oranssi Pazuzu's atmosphere made the transition from "fun dark" to "true dark" at some point over the last couple of albums. All I know is that Värähtelijä manages to set me on edge. The psych rock riffs are as inviting as always, but there's an undercurrent of fear in their music I didn't really hear before. For what it's worth, I think this is the first real masterpiece Oranssi Pazuzu have made. Even if their past albums can be considered classics in their own right, it's hard to think of a way where the band could develop further after Värähtelijä. From the slow burn of "Saturaatio" to the schizoid guitar noise on "Havuluu", Oranssi Pazuzu consistently find new and exciting ways of fleshing out their fundamental blend of genres. For whatever it's worth, these guys have long since encased themselves as one of black metal's most innovative forces. I have no idea how they'll manage to push it even further than this, but I've got fingers crossed.

Originally written for Heathen Harvest Periodical

Stylistically the material on "Värähtelijä" is a continuation of the style the band introduced on their debut full-length studio album "Muukalainen Puhuu (2009)" and further developed on "Kosmonument (2011)" and "Valonielu (2013)". It´s a a psychadelic blackened extreme metal style, which is strongly influenced by 60s/70s psychadelic rock (I hear quite a few 1968-69 Pink Floyd influences in the music and some early Hawkwind too) and 60s/70s Krautrock artists like Faust and especially Can. It´s slow building and hypnotic music featuring repetitive beats and bass lines, raw noisy and some atmospheric mellow guitars, swirling psychadelic synths, and a raspy black metal voice in front. The atmosphere is dense and dark, and even in the most mellow atmospheric parts there is an underlying ominous mood to the compositions, which works really well for Oranssi Pazuzu.

Although the material on the 7 track, 69:13 minutes long album, is obviously composed featuring structures (not regular vers/chorus ones though), which develop throughout the tracks, there is a loose organic feel to how the band perform their parts, which provides the music with an unpredictable jam type element. It´s actually one of their strongest assets, although they sometimes seem to get lost in their jams and let them last a bit too long. That´s of course an aquired taste, so I won´t hold it too much again them, and I am greatly entertained throughout most of the album. I´d like to mention the 17:39 minutes long "Vasemman Käden Hierarkia" as one of the highlights of the album, but all tracks are high quality compositions.

"Värähtelijä" is a well produced release too, which features a dark, gritty, and organic sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. So upon conclusion "Värähtelijä" is another strong release by Oranssi Pazuzu. It´s not a revolution of their by now trademark sound, and maybe a bit of development is in order by now, but it´s hard to deny the great qualities of the release and it doesn´t completely feel like Oranssi Pazuzu have stagnated and don´t have anything new to offer either, so a 4 star (80%) rating is still deserved.