The time has come to venture into darkened Finnish landscapes of the darkest variety. In the cold black of night, we approach the edge of the mist to meet either glory or a grisly end… or an international border.

But in all seriousness, the music found here holds many faces wrapped in an ever darkened catalyst. It will elate and depress the listeners soul with a solid musical approach. Which brings me to my first point, the instrumental corps of this band should pat themselves on the back. The grandeur of these soundscapes can be damn near undeniable. They bring out interesting melodies and darkened aural paths. They’re often simple yet very effective.

All in all, Vuolla did a great job constructing their debut. They dish out a unique sound through mixing Doom Metal with Progressive, Death Metal, and Post-Rock elements. Not too many bands fall into this category though you can hear certain influences stemming out of their sound in an awesome way.

The EP consists of six tracks. They all have their strengths but the best, in my opinion, are the opener “Stillness. Here”, “As Our Shadows Fall”, and “Afterlie”. In particular, they display this band’s creative and musical capabilities. I might go as far to say they are three strongest in the band’s entire (8 song) discography.

This is not music for those of you with a short attention span. Expect to hear the same progressions brought back a number of times and embellished. Beyond that, all the songs a lengthy with a certain epic flair. The shortest (and lightest, “A Security Breach”) being five minutes and forty-six seconds long and the longest being nine minutes and thirty-four seconds (“Afterlie”). Did I mention they have another EP out now with a 13-minute song? You get the picture. This might as well be a full-length.

There is definitely a layer of cheese to be found here. Some of the lighter segments may come across as hokey… others may come across as great. For example, the record has a few mid-tempo keyboard solos which would have been 100x better as guitar solos. Also, the clean vocals seem to lack a certain *umph* that the music itself possesses. Don’t get me wrong, they’re essentially good but they just don’t always mesh in my ears.

The harsh vocals, on the other hand, are awesome! They truly bring out the Death Metal side of this band with force. Love that side of this band!

Overall, I have to say this EP is a great one. It does have it’s rough spots but overall Vuolla deserve recognition for a solid effort. Give the whole thing a listen through the stream above and support the musicians if you enjoy! Also be sure to give their latest EP “Rivers In Me” a listen.

Links: Facebook // Official Website // iTunes