CONFUSION FIELD

In February 2022 I reviewed the debut of this Finnish Heavy Prog project sovereignly led by composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Tomi Kankainen. Now he kindly gave me the opportunity to share my impressions on the second album. Heavy or Metal music not being my field, I'm afraid I don't have much new to say.

Apart from a very slight and undoubtedly deliberate stuffiness in the soundscape -- nothing seriously wrong with it, it's more about my personal taste really --, the production is again very good. Tomi is a rare multi-instrumentalist in that aspect that he's a very competent singer, too. He's only accompanied by drummer Petri Honkonen, and Markus Jämsen plays guitar solos on four tracks. Despite the restricted number of musicians the album's sound is extremely broad and strong. One could think of an amalgamation of Prog Metal à la Dream Theater, more or less Neo-flavoured modern Prog Rock such as Lonely Robot, and some later era of RUSH when they were pretty heavy and still used synths. The general mood of the album is rather dark, perhaps slightly dystopic in its modernity.

Those listeners deeper into Heavy/Metal may disagree with me to some degree, but to me personally the weak side of this album -- can't help, I'm again repeating myself from the debut review -- is the feeling that most compositions follow the similar pattern. The pattern itself is admittedly good and effective. It's full of highly charged energy, and also from the melodic point of view the compositions have substance. But I as a listener would have wanted more radical differences in the song structures. There are some more spatial and calmer moments within the pieces to fully justify the airy and excellent cover design, but in the end most of the songs remind each other a bit too much in my opinion.

Towards the end things get better. 'The Waiting Room' with its slow intro is among my highlights, and the finest piece is definitely the nearly 11-minute long, three-part final piece 'Factory Shadow'. In one Finnish review the ghost of Marillion (the later era, I bet) is said to be hovering above it, and I can relate to that, although Rush is perhaps sonically closer. My rating is 3½ and I round it upwards since I don't want to imply that this was any less powerful and well done than the debut.

Tomi Kankainen is a veteran lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from Finland whose 2021 debut "Disconnection Complete" attracted my attention as a project that might just have some legs, in a contemporary style somewhat near Riverside, Pineapple Thief, Karibow and Lonely Robot but adding a plethora of classic prog touches as well as an overall personal sheen. As if communicating in silent ESP, he recently offered me to review his latest sophomore work, scheduled for mid-November release, containing 9 tracks and the return of collaborators Petri Honkonen on drums and the lush guitar theatrics of Markus Jamsen. The cover art is off the charts gorgeous, azure skies and pinkish clouds will slay me every single time. This is one of those albums that took me three spins to really sink in, as its quite dense, potent and demanding.

Powerful riffs and percolating synths combine with a nuclear drum assault to hammer home the impression that this just might be quite a discovery for many unfamiliar with this band. Yes, there is an undeniable similitude with Mariusz Duda's seminal voice as well as the more muscular disposition of the Riverside material at hand. "Atom Child" is delightfully playful with contrasts as well as loaded with all the little details that keeps prog fans on their toes, ready, alert and salivating. The fissure-less segue into "Secondhand Escape", a tighter, grab the jugular rant that has immediate appeal, as well as a lusty syncopated drum pattern, that accentuates the sense of evading reality. Another notch upwards in intensity with its close follow up "Do Not Engage the Enemy", a brash piece with sizzling metallic sensibility, where tortured guitars and razor synths supply the backbone for the vocal plea that is utterly conclusive, especially with the choir assembled in the outro.

No moment of sonic respite on "Phoenix Learns to Fly", despite a softer heavy modulation that keeps the heartbeat running and complementing massive orchestral synthesized walls of sound with buzzing guitar shards that sparkle in the rain. The dreamy Floydian feel of "To the End of the Hex" sets the tone for a wild ride, and one of the crowning achievement on this set list, as the full throttle guitars step to the front of the stage and provide a fiery lead guitar solo from Markus Jamsen. The mood is anthemic, yet powerfully athletic, a forlorn vocal section tweaking the mood into a form of ultimate submission and hopeful conclusion. The steamroller onslaught is beckoned back to the fore on "Defence Solution", a tightly packed slap in the face, with guitar rage galore, binary drums and a catchy refrain amid all the chaos of sound and fury, a bruising modern prog rock tune. The dust has settled and the contemplative beauty of "Tomorrow Started Yesterday" takes over, eventually shifting back and forth between bombastic moments and sonic acquiescence. The chorus is grandiloquent, overwhelming, and completely convincing, a definite clever highlight that requires playlist time., the slow burn finish (one 'n', not two!) is magical.

The RPWL-ish "The Waiting Room" is another slow burn anthem that keeps all the emotions in a tightly effective context, an excellent song that is somewhat out of the box from the rest. A perfect set up for the epic highlight track finale, the three- part "Factory Shadow" that surely will be the final determinator of its inherent quality and interest. Let me eliminate any suspense by stating that it is a fantastic suite that also serves as a perfect indicator of this band's talent. Everything presented here is elevated from being really very good to outright excellent, not surprising as the nearly 11 minutes give the various arrangements all the space, width and breath needed to elicit applause from any listener, irrespective of genre preference, as it straddles a few prog subcategories with overt facility and inordinate amount of passion. The impressive three sections transition effortlessly, Tomi really shining on guitars, keyboards, bass and delivering a superlative vocal performance, asking "why the world keeps turning?" Good question, not too sure about finding the answer.

4.5 Puzzled wandering tenses

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.

[Originally published at The Progressive Aspect]

There is no getting away from the fact that Finnish band Confusion Field are going to be compared with Riverside for their debut album, Disconnection Complete. Not that I've read any reviews for it, as I never do before writing my own (lest I be influenced by the words of others). But the music is undeniably reminiscent of Riverside, so comparisons with that band are surely inevitable. Even the vocals are similar to those of Mariusz Duda. The inflections and accent are different, of course, but the intonation bears a definite resemblance. However, Confusion Field are in no way derivative or unoriginal. They may wear their influences on their sleeves, but they certainly add enough of their own sound to make Disconnection Complete fresh and interesting.

The album crashes into being with lead single Sky Is Never the Same, which shows what to expect from the rest of the set: extremely pleasant and melodic vocals, subtle electronic sounds, waves of keyboards, expressive and powerful bass, bruising riffs, and strong yet subtle drums. The electronic sounds are utilised more in some songs, but never obtrusively so. They augment, rather than distract, and I really love the way they add to the sound of Close Call. As with Riverside, the guitar can be quite Floydian at times, and the solo here definitely sounds inspired by David Gilmour. These two songs provide a strong opening salvo, but it only gets better from here on in!

While the first two tracks have that muscular, melancholic and melodic metal vibe of Riverside, Confusion Field soon reveal they are no one-trick pony. As third song, Nothing Holds the Storm, progresses, it starts to remind me less of Riverside and more of the music of Thomas Thielen (aka t). As much as I like the first two songs, this is where the album really begins to hold my interest. Nothing Holds the Storm is easily my favourite track, and the song that made me fall in love with this album. I love the way the song almost stops midway, before coming back for a magnificent climax. By the last minute, it's more Peter Gabriel than t - and just to hammer that comparison home are those final vocal notes. Wow! But, again, although I am making comparisons, I do not think Confusion Field ever sound so much like anyone that they could be tarred with that feared 'clones' moniker.

Become Invisible begins sounding more Lunatic Soul than Riverside, before then being thrown into a blender with David Bowie, as the rock kicks in. There's another gorgeous Floydian solo, but ultimately this is a terrifically Bowie-esque slice of metallic pop, and is probably my second favourite song on Disconnection Complete. It screams 'single', so no surprise that it was released as third song to promote the album. The keys of main-man Tomi Kankainen (who also plays guitar and bass, and is the vocalist and composer) really shine on this track. And this is part of the attraction of this album, as it blends the worlds of pop, rock and metal seamlessly and mesmerically, providing an incredible variety of sounds whilst still managing to stay relatively homogeneous. Thus, Distort Reality is more Katatonia than Riverside - two similar sounding bands at times, who would never be mistaken for each other. I love the brooding, heavy nature of this song, and it's probably my third favourite here (and the second single released ahead of the album). For me, the album is worth it for these three songs alone, so it's great for me that they come one after the other.

You might think that I would be less enthusiastic now that my three favourite songs have been and gone - but far from it. The music of Confusion Field always feels deliberate, precise, incisive and dynamic - 'Everything in its right place', as Radiohead might say - so none of the momentum is lost and the album remains strong and compelling. The drumming of Petri Honkonen is superb, and often given its turn in the spotlight. Markus Jämsen plays some mean and blistering lead guitar riffs and solos - but the star of the show is definitely Kankainen, who is all over this album. His bass and keyboard playing are an absolute delight. I love the variety of his vocals, and especially the way he sometimes pulls out the stops in the final moments. I mentioned Nothing Holds the Storm already, but check out the vocals at the end of Anxiety Reflected. Its quiet introduction belies it, but this is already a beast of a song - and the climax is explosive. Anxiety Reflected shows how well Confusion Field can create music which is simultaneously heavy and menacing, but immediate and captivating. It has a quieter passage towards the end, which is even more malevolent in its minimalism. It's atmospheric in the manner of a horror film.

See Through Walls is another song that reminds me of a mix of t and Riverside, and I guess, due to its inclusion in the lyrics, as close to a title track as appears on Disconnection Complete, the title comprising the final phrase of the spoken word coda, which leads beautifully into the peaceful sounds of Zen Garden Moment. This is a truly beautiful and relaxing moment of calm within that reminds me a lot of Nosound, albeit with the odd power chord thrown in, and that ever present Riverside vibe. I love the drumming in this number, which adds to the overall psychedelic feel. This is a really nice song, which could easily have been a very effective closing number. Many bands might have done just that, but Confusion Field has one more song for us - and it's the longest yet.

Connecting the Dots is a truly triumphant song. It has a confident, assured swagger, and a positivity that is either missing or only hinted at previously. As can be expected for a longer song, and because of how much some of the shorter numbers have packed in, there are changes in mood throughout. But as with the album overall, the sense of balance is acute. Connecting the Dots, and Disconnection Complete as a whole, traverse light and dark, and aggression, joy and sorrow to great effect. Highly recommended for fans of melancholic metal such as Riverside or Katatonia, but also for fans of neo-prog artists such as t, IT, or John Mitchell, or for those who enjoy the atmospheric soundscapes of bands such as Pink Floyd or Nosound.