Fall of the Idols
Agonies Be Thy Children
7.9
With their fourth demo release, Finland’s Fall of the Idols have produced the most promising demo that I have heard in some time. These guys are poised to make a splash in the doom world, and a label would do itself a favor by recognizing the talent and potential of this young band. This four song, twenty nine minute offering is a formidable display of classic doom, and though it may be hard to track down, it is definitely worth the effort.
During the recording of Agonies Be Thy Children singer Panu Paunonen decided to leave the band, and vocal duties were subsequently returned to drummer Jyrki Hakomaki, who was the singer for the band’s second demo. No disrespect to Paunonen, but Hakomaki’s return to vocals is the right move for this band, as the vocals are much of what is so enjoyable about FOTI. His deep, rich baritone has character to burn, and Hakomaki turns in a powerful performance that ranges from near whispers to howls. Furthermore, his tendency to vary the rate and volume of his delivery serves as an engrossing match for FOTI’s brand of ageless doom, which is full of a variety of riffs and tempos. Both the tone of Hakomaki’s voice and his ability to draw the listener in by varying melody, rate and volume are highly reminiscent of the mighty Jim Morrison, a comparison that’s impossible to miss on “The Walk”, as the band also turns in a performance that resembles The Doors in a dark, hypnotic, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” kind of way. The song’s slow, alternating riffs of ringing bass and guitar notes itself, actually conjuring visions of walking strides, and the swirling wind and thunder effects giving the song a quietly ominous, ride the snake, psychedelic feel.
Agonies Be Thy Children picks up speed with each song. Opener “Halls of the Forgotten” is a fine song, but is a bit more straightforward then the rest of the album. The band improves upon it with the title track, an eight minute exercise in slow building doom. This is the track where Hakomaki’s contribution really makes a difference. During longer stretches of repetitive riffing his diverse vocal lines add ample variety to the song. The track offers massive payoff towards the end, becoming much more active and dynamic. It’s always nice to hear the bass receive proper attention in writing and the mix, and Vesa Karpinnen’s work adds to the development of the songs. It’s a nice balance, especially considering that FOTI have three guitar players. The mellow charms of “The Walk” are a perfect introduction to the album’s crowning song, the massive “Beneath the Burning Sun”. Rarely will one hear as well executed an epic doom song. Well conceptualized and executed, powerfully ominous and crushingly heavy, this nine minutes alone is an airtight case that Fall of the Idols have the talent to become major players in the doom genre. Hopefully the next FOTI project will be a full release and have deserved label backing. Either way, we’ll be hearing more from these guys.
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Fall of the IdolsThe Seance
4/12/2008