KAUNIS KUOLEMATON: Mielenvalta

Release year: 2023
Label: Noble Demon

I’ll level with ya. The style Finnish Kaunis Kuolematon represents – melodic extreme metal with doom elements and clean vocals aplenty – isn’t my cup of tea. In fact, it’s the kind of stuff I usually wouldn’t give the time of day. But as it happens, my wife really likes this kind of stuff and Kaunis Kuolematon in particular. About a year ago, I tagged along to a gig where they were playing, and was surpised to find out I actually enjoyed their set despite the above. As such, when the Finns’ new album was released, I figured I’d put it to closer scrutiny and see what’s what.

But, bear the above in mind as a disclaimer. I really am not the target audience for this stuff. Seems like the noughties were replete with bands of this kind, who played a major role in me losing interest in extreme metal and metal in general for a number of years. Treat it as an experiment: what is my takeaway from an album in a style I have some kind of distaste for?

To be sure, Mielenvalta feels like a throwback to some 20 years ago. Sentimental, melancholy melodies mix with moments of blasting and buzzsawing guitars, deep guttural vocals (which are quite good, actually!) alternate with lots and lots of clean vocals, and there are plenty of soft, clean passages to balance out the distorted guitars. Words you see thrown around are “gothic” and “melodic” and “death” and “doom”, but I’m not so sure about the death and the doom part.

I guess another moniker could be “melodic extreme metal”, but despite there being elements from extreme metal here, there’s really nothing extreme about this music. Quite the contrary, despite guttural vocals and the heavy riffs and the occasional blasting, there’s very little that’s extreme in this music. Rather, I’d say this is extremely accessible music.

If you read some negativity into the above description – and you’d be right to do so – it’s about the style, not Kaunis Kuolematon as a band. And it’d be wrong to deride Kaunis Kuolematon just because they’ve chosen as their own a style of metal that does nothing for me.

Looking past personal predilections, Kaunis Kuolematon aren’t by any means bad purveyors of their chosen style. As said, the growls are quite competent, the balance between heaviness and softer passages is well thought out, and there definitely are moments here and there that I like. But not to the extent of there being a single song that’d do anything for me.

Which surprises exactly no one at this point, I reckon.

But, the bottom line. There’s nothing that feels particularly innovative or forward thinking about Mielenvalta. Rather, it feels like a record that plays it safe and sticks to a tried and true formula of “melodic gothic death/doom metal”. But on the other hand, within that field, it’s a very competently done, varied and ably put together album.

Yeah, I’ll stick to my boneheaded bestial black metal in the future as well. But if stuff like Swallow The Sun or why not My Dying Bride, and the likes of ’em are your cup of tea, you’ll definitely dig this album as well.

Visit Kaunis Kuolematon on their official website, Bandcamp or Facebook