TALVIKUNINGAS

At first, I thought that the lyrics are in Italian (it sounded to me quite like it), however, I knew that they're Finnish. It's probably that when I think about Finnish metal, I always think about all these endless English-singing ones. They started as punk band - clear to hear on second track. Not classic punk, as it's more complex (which is accomplished by changing pace of song and layering), while first song, Kaikkivaltias is more prog. It's strange, but it's something between Prog Metal and RPI, but mostly, sound here is quite heavy and you have this dense feeling that this music "IS" here, you can feel its presence. Variety of album is so big that one thing here is for sure - you won't be bored. Needed to say that calm parts are more like sparsely present. Langennut Valo ending is very crazy, expect something sinister and dreadful, but when you're ready to face it, do it and await the results. Nah, it's not that bad. Following track, Quanta is more "rock" with furiously calm drums (yes, it's possible, no mindless bashing, but clever and complex line instead).

4(+), let's be sober for this time. Ranging from almost ambient (almost, because it's never ambient) to extreme metal, this album is very unique.

When the myths have lost their meaning, new ones must be written. Whether it was this that CMX set out to do on their twelfth studio album or whether they merely wanted to have some fun with some science fiction themes, Talvikuningas ('The Winter King') is a respectably daring and fresh effort from a band just having passed their twentieth anniversary. It's a full-fledged and tastefully overblown concept album telling an epic story of war, betrayal and power, spanning over centuries and taking place somewhere in distant space.

CMX have always been timeless instead of current. I remember an interview, from the early 90's I think, where the band's singer and lyricist A. W. Yrjänä told of his having pondered whether it was appropriate to use such a distinctly modern word as 'train' in a song lyric. On Talvikuningas he sings about neutron stars and killer satellites as casually as he does about winged bulls and archangels. Despite the futuristic setting the typical religious and metaphysical themes are still there. Christian, Aztec and Masonic mythology are but a few of the contexts woven amidst the stylistically quite varied songs, each of which is a fragment of the enchanting but ultimately near indecipherable story.

Musically Talvikuningas is one of the few CMX albums where the band's prog influences are undeniably obvious. Especially the lengthy opening and closing tracks, "Kaikkivaltias" ("The Omnipotent") and "Kaikkivaltiaan peili" ("The Mirror of the Omnipotent"), chain different rhythms and moods into a solid prog rock song as cleverly as Rush did on their heyday. As far as CMX albums go, the most obvious point of comparison would be the implicitly prog-inspired Dinosaurus Stereophonicus. But whereas Dinosaurus Stereophonicus was a homage to the classic prog sound of King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Yes and even Tangerine Dream, Talvikuningas has a modern, distinctly more digital than analog sound. The overall feel of the album is suitably sparse, spacelike - and extremely cold. Production-wise it's definitely amongst CMX's most impressive albums. The individual tracks flow smoothly into one another and the captivating atmosphere is maintained to the very end where the hour-long journey concludes with what must be one of the most moving finales ever.

In the history of Finnish music Talvikuningas is an exceptional work. I'm a bit uncertain, however, how unreservedly I'd dare to recommend it to a non-Finnish-speaking listener. Although lyrics play an important part on every CMX album, on Talvikuningas it's mainly the narrative that keeps the whole thing together. Still, if you're into space rock or atmospheric prog metal, you might want to give Talvikuningas a try.

CMX are a Finnish rock band with hardcore punk roots, nowadays balancing between mainstream and alternative with prog influences coming forth every now and then. The band started in 1985 and Talvikuningas is their 12th album, released in 2007. It's also their most progressive I think.

Talvikuningas means "Winter King" and it's a theme album with a space opera type sci-fi story, told in 12 fragments in disjointed timeline. The band told in an interview that they wanted to make "an album that King Crimson never made". It's a bold statement and of course it doesn't turn out true when you look at the end result. There is clear influence from Thrak and onwards era KC, but even more Rush, Mars Volta and Tool I think. If you like any of those three, there's a good chance you might find Talvikuningas worth checking out.

The sound is rather modern, cold and "metallic". It's guitar-lead hard rock, but keyboards are used well for atmosphere. There's plenty of odd-time yet catchy riffs and true to theme album, they revisit some riffs and musical sequences in different songs. It's always more than standard pop song structure, but they never get complex for the sake of complexity or showing off their skills.

As a Finnish rock album this gets 5 stars, as a progressive rock album aimed at international audience - 4 stars.

Personally, I don't enjoy this album, it was clear to me upon first listening. Not because Talvikuningas would be a weak work from CMX, no, but simply because it's very metallic, and metal music has never been my cup of tea. Among fans of this Finnish band with hardcore punk roots and varying amounts of pop, metal and prog in their output (btw, I prefer their more pop-oriented albums such as Aura, 1994), Talvikuningas seems to be one of their most respected albums, even THE masterpiece that is said to demand time to really sink on the listener. So, pardon me for merely sharing my totally undedicated overall impression of this ambitious SciFi concept album instead of giving it more time.

The concept, ie. the story filled with intergalactic wars, satellites, cyborgs etc., has a very intriguing frame in the prologue (which is sadly not put in music): in 2727 a good ruler gave a present for his wife, a garden smaller than the nail of her little finger, yet filled with waterfalls, brooks, bridges and a thousand mechanical birds that sing fragments of the Winter King saga. What a charming image indeed. The music and war-filled lyrics themselves do not contain any of such delicacy or vividly detailed imagery, in my opinion. The SciFi/Fantasy illustrations in the lyrics booklet are admittedly good looking, though.

Last year Svart Records re-released Talvikuningas ("Winter King") again on double vinyl, with the originally separately released single 'Kuolemaantuomitut' / 'Mekaanisten lintujen puisto' as the fourth side. At the time of its original release on a single compact disc, the 62-minute album was promoted/hyped as one epic piece divided into twelve parts. Compare e.g. Whirlwind by Transatlantic. The tracks follow each other seamlessly. However, the suggested singularity in the composition doesn't make my own reception any better. To me this is just a tiresome metal album containing more or less similar sounding tracks, mostly devoid of calmer moments to widen up the artistic dynamics. Even a prog metal fan may be disappointed by a secondary or minimal role of keyboards (played by a non-member).

The best tracks for me are 'Tähtilaivan kapteeni' (= The captain of starship) and 'Quanta', but even they fail to impress me deeper. If you want to concentrate on the proggiest CMX, I rather recommend the double set Dinosaurus Stereophonicus (2000) that genuinely contains a lot of sonic and emotional variety and distinctive highlights. Talvikuningas is primarily for the metal oriented listeners.