Noitumaa

I'll admit, before running into my usual rants, tangents and general incoherence, that I'm not entirely familiar with Ajattara. I listened to their first two albums and, while quite similar, I enjoyed them enough to consider them a band I actually like. Everything else they've ever done, thought, sounds exactly the fucking same in my ears (at least their second album managed to expand on some of the basic foundations of their debut, but once they found that comfy formula they stuck to it like barnacles to the back of a grey whale). Everything, that is, except this album. On this album, Noitumaa (a word for which I haven't been able to find a proper definition/translation, so I hope not much is lost on me), the band attempts something that, in an admittedly ludicrous move, might be defined as acoustic dark metal.

Non-electrical instruments (mainly classic guitar and flutes) aren't exactly a novelty in metal anymore, and neither is a completely acoustic album (see: Ulver, Empyrium, Drudkh, Finntroll, etc), yet the ranks of bands that have dared to attempt something that might be defined as metal without electric guitars (or, at least, distorted electric guitars) are thin on the ground. Circle Of Ouroborus' ritualistic acoustic masterpiece Veneration comes to mind (as well as the acoustic tracks off of their split with Urfaust, Auerauege Raa Verduistering, as do particular efforts by Branikald and Laetitia In Holocaust. Yet this particular album stands out from this already outstanding crowd by consciously attempting to capture and reproduce the essence of what makes metal metal into an acoustic frame. Personally, I think they nailed it down, even if the end result isn't as impressive as my instincts tell me they should be. By all accounts, the sheer ballsiness of this effort, combined with the compelling and hypnotic (in a staring-at-a-bonfire kind of way) composition/structures and elements that make up this album rank it as one of the most unique and impressive efforts within the metal community out of the second half of the past decade.

The pacing never lets up, as what seems like hordes of detuned and jangly acoustic guitars attack you In Stereo (where available), driven by a low-profile yet extremely persuasive battery (no pun intended) of tribal-ish percussion, the nature of which, I find, is rather hard to identify. There seems to be a whole palette of bass-like instruments, from a cello (or even a contra-bass) to what sounds like a perfectly electric bass guitar, which kind of beats the purpose of the album, yet carries a compelling sound. The vocals are harsh, varied, really fucking high in the mix (perhaps the only real problem with this album) and are typical of the style of metal usually expected from this band. Growls and screams are backed by distant, fading clean vocals that, again, conjure an image of secrecy and sorcery. Finally, the usual folk instruments make their appearance; fiddles and mouth harps are always part of the course when it comes to northern european folklore, even if Finland is only tangentially related to what we usually refer as Scandinavia.

The riffing, if we can call it that, limits itself to acoustic renditions of what previous albums by this band have offered, which is a rare and confusing listening, but that confusion only adds to the personality and uniqueness of this experiment of an album. We also get folk-inspired tunes and "lead" guitars painting windy melodies, drifting by and through the main body of the songs.

There are other, harder-to-identify instruments, and even a sizable amount of studio trickery, which at times manages to fuse the ancient, prehistoric feel of the album with the more sinister and inhuman aspects of a post-industrial-revolution world. All in all the production is the glue that keeps the disparate characteristics of this album (the metal and the acoustic nature) together to great success.

I like to think this band took a bold step forward and decided that they would be the ones to attempt such an unholy (and often unsuccessful to terrible degrees) union, raising a very hard-hitting philosophical question to the metal community: What, exactly, makes metal metal? And, mainly, is it the distortion? Most of us would hesitate to answer such question, because we like to think that, no, that's not the ultimate nature of metal. Metal is far too complex and varied a family of music, reducing it to "it needs loud guitars" would be a disservice to it. And yet, where's proof to the contrary? Are we really that limited as a family?

Thankfully, works like Noitumaa add weight to the argument that, no, distortion is not what makes or breaks metal. This album might not appeal to most people, both within and without the metal community, but it stands as a successful philosophical experiment, whether the band realises this or not (my money is in "not"), and that's a good enough reason to hold this work in high praise. That, and the fact that the music is really fucking good. I hope I made that bit clear because it's rather important.

Basically, for those who scrolled all the way to the bottom expecting a short summary because they can't stand the idea of reading a whole paragraph, nevermind a whole review, this is an acoustic album with a metal attitude; an almost perfect amalgam of everything that makes metal metal, and the things that would usually be relegated to campy, jangly folk (and even contemporary indie "folk") jams. It's a significant album that, perhaps unbeknownst to the band itself, welds shut a gap on the metal world, a gap which most people weren't even aware existed on the first place. If you're a musical adventurer, are on the look for unique albums, or just like leftfield music in general, make sure to give this one a listen.

When learning that Ajattara's new album was to be an acoustic piece, I was very much expecting a slew of tracks from older albums unplugged. That is not quite what has manifested through Noitumaa.

This is a strange album, and often a little too strange. Acoustics and light percussion form the foundation for the tracks, and over this the vocals are smothered like so much butter on rye bread. At best this becomes a festive affair, as in the raucous "Massat" and the swampy twang of "Kielletyn sanat". More often it's just strange and annoying, like the opening track "Keukhot" with all its vocal foolery, or "Ikuisen aamun Sara" with its death metal riff gone acoustic (which doesn't sound very good) lapsing into a mediocre folk rock tune. At times this album sounds like something Fantomas would do if they were Finnish and using a lot of acoustic guitars...

The album is not a total waste. It's probably on par with their last full-length, Kalmanto, but of course this isn't saying much, since that was a staggering disappointment. There is enough here though to make me wonder: if Ajattara tightened up the writing and vocals, they could probably produce a phenomenal album of unique folk. But Noitumaa feels slightly too experimental for its own health. A few of the tunes work, most do not, and I am left longing for Ajattara to return to those roots that made the first four albums so bloody good.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

The all acoustic, all Finnish and all bleak "Noitumaa" from Ajattara is a head-scratcher of an album. It is cold, harsh and has a serious feel of under-production even for an album completely devoid of electricity, so coupled with the fact it is sung entirely in Finnish does anyone in the band or at Spikefarm reckon on it selling well/at all? The opening two songs of the band's sixth studio album first sound like a stripped down version of Korn, and then a South American concoction of Soulfly/Ill Nino/mid-era Sepultura, which whichever way one looks at it is not a good start.

And things never pick up from there. What must surely be the most widely-recognised acoustic metal album of recent times, Opeth's "Damnation" may exude fragility but it feels like it was born to be acoustic; "Noitumaa" is revealed by "Ikuisen Aamun Sara" and "Säkeitä Riippuneesta Lihasta" to be uncomfortable, acoustic black metal. Not only do most of the plodding, scratchy songs sound similar but each ones conclusion brings the realisation it has travelled nowhere in its 4 minutes, where even a change of tack through the inclusion of greater colour to the bleak grey palette Ajattara have served up would have been advantageous to all. As a listener and reviewer I appreciate new and interesting ideas but in my opinion this just doesn't work and by the end of the 31 minutes my feelings are of cursed disappointment and boredom. There is a small, 2% chance I could listen to this in 6 months and regret the mark "Noitumaa" is about to get, but without the benefit of time I can only see Ajattara's latest effort slipping away silently, blissfully, from where it came...

Originally written for Rockfreaks.net

It seems, this early on, that there’s really not much to be said about Ajattara’s latest release “Noitumaa”. Let’s start with the facts: Ajattara has been sliding in a constant downward spiral since their first two albums. Up ‘til their 2007 album “Kalmanto” the main problem was that they weren’t the least bit progressive; never changing their orientation in neither sound nor material. After all, five full-lengths of the same basic style gets a tad boring in the long run...

A couple of years have passed since I ultimately gave up on this band. I promised myself I’d not pick up their next album in fear of being disappointed once more. I was therefore (one among the v-e-r-y few, I suspect) somewhat excited when Ajattara announced they would release an acoustic album. After all, I had complained so much about them never progressing that I felt I had to give them a chance with this. My first instinct, however, was that black metal isn’t really supposed to have an acoustic makeover.

I do not dislike this record because I think it’s a generally dumb idea to record an acoustic “black metal album”. I really wanted to find something here, but... Well, I didn’t. The music itself isn’t very good at all. They play a slow, dull and foremost weird form of “metal”. Yeah, we can call it that, can’t we? The whole presentation is laughable, and becomes even more ridiculous once you realize Ajattara is taking themselves seriously with this release. Yes, it sounds very silly. No, it isn’t executed properly. Yes, it is boring and feels wrong all the way. No, it doesn’t offer very much to hold your attention. Although it may be “new”, it is certainly not refreshing. They aimed very high, but failed hard. Acoustic music is supposed to be beautiful, not ugly; and while everyone doesn’t agree with that, I’m sure people need to find something they can relate, if even remotely, to something beautiful. Pasi Koskinens vocals have been out of shape for a few years already, and honestly, he’s got nothing left to offer. The semi-growls pass by unnoticed, but when he attempts some clean singing, it’s so embarrassing that even the listener blushes. They’ve scraped together a “drum kit” for a total of 9 € (heard it in an interview), and whatever Malakias IV bangs his drum sticks on, it sounds like he’s hitting about four different pieces of scrap, and totally random at that. The riffs range from slow heavy parts to more melodic outbursts. Some of them are okay (like in Ikuisen aamun sara), but within the acoustic milieu presented, they don’t do themselves justice. Also, tuning the guitars before recording might have been a good idea.

If I have to say anything positive about “Noitumaa”, it has to be that it has a decent production. This may be due to the acoustic instruments, since they always seem to sound good on a record. The overall sound has a clarity to it, which actually is better than most of Ajattara’s other releases. But the inevitable fact is; this record is not worth your money or attention. It’s better to leave this one behind, ladies and gentlemen. I guess something good came out of this. Ajattara set such a bad example that no followers will evolve. Kind of like Dr. Mengele with his experiments... Hey, now I’ve got my title. “Noitumaa” is the Dr. Mengele of metal. Anyone who attempts to copy this form of acoustic atrocity is going to suffer the same words written here within. Hopefully, everyone else will get it.