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MUUNTAUTUJA

Oranssi Pazuzu

Experimental/Post Metal


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Oranssi Pazuzu Muuntautuja album cover
3.98 | 11 ratings | 3 reviews | 9% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 2024

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Bioalkemisti (5:31)
2. Muuntautuja (4:30)
3. Voitelu (5:21)
4. Hautatuuli (4:39)
5. ● (0:51) (instrumental)
6. Valotus (6:57)
7. Ikikäärme (9:49)
8. Vierivä usva (5:27)

Total Time 43:05


Line-up / Musicians

- Ontto / Bass, Keyboards, Lyrics
- Korjak / Drums
- Evill / Grand piano, Vocals, Effects, Lyrics (track 3)
- Jun-His / Vocals, Guitars
- Ikon / Guitars, Keyboards, Samples

Releases information

Nuclear Blast, October 11th, 2024.

Thanks to the t for the addition
and to silly puppy for the last updates
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ORANSSI PAZUZU Muuntautuja ratings distribution


3.98
(11 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music (9%)
9%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection (73%)
73%
Good, but non-essential (18%)
18%
Collectors/fans only (0%)
0%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

ORANSSI PAZUZU Muuntautuja reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by siLLy puPPy
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
4 stars Following the trajectory of the Finnish psychedelic black metal band ORANSSI PAZUZU is like experiencing an Earth based band fall into a wormhole and accidentally tagging along for the ride. While starting out as a somewhat recognizable black metal band all the way back in 2009 with its debut "Muukalainen Puhuu," ORANSSI PAZUZU incrementally left the gravitational pull of our host planet and has taken a bonafide space journey into a world of its own making. This eclectic quintet has returned after a four year hiatus with its latest effort MUUNTAUTUJA which translates into something like "Transformative" or "Shapeshifter" which is exactly what this idiosyncratic and eccentric band has clearly become.

MUUNTAUTUJA marks another step beyond the once established parameters of black metal and takes the band into a bizarre web of neo-psychedelia that finds electronic influences taking a much larger role in crafting strange futuristic soundscapes that offer wild otherworldly spaced out effects. While the black metal hasn't been totally usurped by gurgling synthesizers, trip hop based beats and ominous industrial sounds, any traces of Scandinavian kvlt majesty have been set way down in the mix as to leave only distorted guitar distortion rumblings and the band's classic raspy vocal style as a beacon of light that points to its origins. Something like a modern day Ulver that never jettisoned the black metal furor, ORANSSI PAZUZU has reached the middle of its wormhole journey with one of its strangest albums yet.

One of the most inventive black metal bands to have emerged in the 21st century, ORANSSI PAZUZU set off like a voyage on the Star Trek Voyager and has crafted a truly unique sound that never remains stationary from album to album. While the earlier albums showcased a post-metal-like procession with cyclical riffs that slowly ratcheted up to crescendoing uproar, the band has always teased in psychedelic embellishments that have indubitably initiated a completely new genre called space metal. By the time the band got to "Mestarin Kynsi" it was apparent that these Finns were heading to the stars without looking back and boldly going where no black metal band has gone before. And the best thing of all is that these talented musicians actually created interesting song structures that made you want to tune in rather than send them off on their mission.

This band has always reveled in juxtaposing the most polarized opposite musical genres together and making strange bedfellows sound like a predestined fit. MUUNTAUTUJA only ups the ante as it takes you on a transcendental musical excursion into an alternate universe where Blut Aus Nord and Portishead commingle in darkened corners with Death Grips and Philip Glass with a touch of Massive Attack, Ministry and Mad Capsule Markets. From the very first oscillating tones of "Bioalkemisti" it's clear that MUUNTAUTUJA is a completely different beast than what came before and another incremental leap down the avant-garde rabbit hole with surreal musical motifs that shapeshift from one track to the next that sample from a cauldron where the disparate worlds of progressive rock, black metal, trip hop, 20th century classical and industrial rock have been simmering in an undisclosed locus in the midst of the vast Finnish forests.

Along with Dodheimsgard, Ulver, Ved Buens Ende and Ram-Zet, ORANSSI PAZUZU has become one of Scandinavia's most forward thinking bands and with the closing "Vierivä usva" totally drifting off into space and leaving the metal mojo behind one can't help but wonder if this band is going to pull an Ulver on us and completely jump into the world of avant-garde electronica. Wherever this inventive band leads many of us avant-metal nerds will surely follow as it is virtually guaranteed that this band will take you somewhere you never knew existed. While i personally found the previous album to be more of my liking, this one is definitely a wild ride into the world of cosmos metal that will leave you gasping for air as you drift beyond the limits our Earthly realms.

Review by A Crimson Mellotron
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Confirming a personal observation that the progressive aura thrives among the heavier ends of the musical spectrum in the decade of the 2020s, one could hardly remain unintrigued by the excellent sixth studio album of Finnish black metal band Oranssi Pazuzu. 'Muuntautaja' (or 'Shapeshifter') is a daringly haunting musical odyssey that can only be seen as genre-defying as the band utilizes a variety of sound manipulation techniques and effects that cover the music with a thick, dense layer of claustrophobic darkness, imbued within the cold, industrial sounds, massive washes of heavy guitars, and vibrant electronic influences among which you may also hear some trip hop-inspired parts, topped by the traditional black metal vocals, which for Oranssi Pazuzu come off as quite befitting the eclectic sound of their music.

It is worth mentioning how psychedelic the band's music can get, and this very album is a great example of this tendency, especially the second half. Opening track 'Bioalkemisti' is a powerful composition that builds up gradually as the main riff is surrounded by a rich and textured frame of sound, within which one can catch glimpses of a mellotron as well as various synth effects. This is followed by the otherworldly title track and its dramatic stylistic shift as we see the introduction of industrial sounds that could have fitted some of the best Nine Inch Nails recordings. The processing of vocals and several sound effects add a gritty sense of horror to the music, a dimension that was definitely sought after and has been realized flawlessly. The psychedelic and distorted exercises continue on 'Voitelu', while 'Hautatuuli' bring back the cold industrial flair. 'Valotus' reminisces the soundtrack of a horror movie quite solemnly, followed by the 10-minute "slow storm build-up" track 'Ikikäärme', quite a dark excursion into the musical world of Oranssi Pazuzu, this piece definitely acts as an amalgamation of all previous influences heard on the album. The closing track is an ambient-adjacent instrumental.

'Muuntautaja' is definitely a record unlike any other one released by a contemporary metal band, a fantastic trip into a dark world of distorted and unusual sounds that eventually attempt to replicate the hidden corners of our world - imagine a psychedelic-industrial version of Ihsahn.

Latest members reviews

4 stars Black metal is one of relatively few styles of metal that seems to mesh well with psychedelia. (Or maybe only black metal acts are disproportionately willing to dabble in it.) It makes sense how one can make that leap, since classic psych often was categorized as such primarily on its instrumental t ... (read more)

Report this review (#3113926) | Posted by TheEliteExtremophile | Monday, November 11, 2024 | Review Permanlink

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