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"“Blackout Whiteout” continues to disorientate Hanging Garden's followers as it veers into melodic territory between atmospheric metal, alternative rock and neo-metal."
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3/5
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The Finns from Hanging Garden have certainly confirmed their unpredictability. After a telluric “Teotwawki” (2009), “At Every Door” and the “I Was A Soldier” EP (2013) returned to more affordable territory, while still displaying an abysmal darkness. On the release of “Blackout Whiteout”, fans are bound to wonder about a totally different visual from what the musical genre dedicated to Scandinavian melancholy is accustomed to gracing us with. What could be the significance of the glowing lips pressed against the glass on the cover of this latest album from the Land of a Thousand Lakes?
The opening chords of ‘Borrowed Eyes’, which kicks off this new opus, quickly shed light on the intentions of the gang led by Mikko Kolari. Here, the quintet opens the door to highly melodic influences from styles such as neo-metal, atmospheric metal and alternative rock. Discrete electro loops wrap themselves around a hypnotic bass, while the clear vocals leave only a few crumbs to the original growls. Over the course of the next eight tracks, Hanging Garden seem to embark on new experiments aimed at enriching an already vast artistic identity for a band barely ten years old. The two-minute introduction to ‘Eclipse’ is one of the most brilliant examples. Reminiscent of Thence's compatriots, this track blends soaring elements, progressive structure and northern melancholy to spellbinding effect.
“Blackout Whiteout” suffered the wrath of the critics at the time of its release, but here it deserves to be rehabilitated as an indispensable step in the construction of the Mikkeli-based band. Admittedly, a piece like ‘Words That Bear No Meaning’ pushes experimentation a little too far, ending up too dissonant and of limited interest. Indeed, after the seismic shocks of the previous albums, the change of scenery is quite striking. But, hovering between Swallow The Sun, which has also begun its moult with a more ethereal “Emerald Forest And The Blackbird”, and Thence, whose “These Stones Cry From Earth” has just broken down many boundaries between different musical styles, the journey proposed here deserves to be traversed with an accessible mind, receptive to a melancholy that opens up to melody.
"Blackout Whiteout" should be discovered without preconceptions. As its title suggests, this album moves into nuanced territory, far from simple black-and-white, even if melancholy remains the beacon from which it is always possible to find your bearings. Hanging Garden continues to be unclassifiable, which makes it endearing and fascinating, but which, by regularly disorientating its audience, deprives it of recognition commensurate with its talent. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Borrowed Eyes - 4:18
02. Whiteout - 4:19
03. Embers - 4:26
 04. Eclipse - 7:52
05. Aoede - 3:17
06. Unearth - 5:10
07. Words That Bear No Meaning - 5:19
08. My Rising Is Your Fall - 6:01
09. Blackout - 7:54
LINEUP:
Jussi Hämäläinen: Chant / Guitares / Violon
Jussi Kirves: Basse
Mikko Kolari: Guitares
Nino Hynninen: Claviers
Toni Toivonen: Chant
Antti Ruokola: Batterie / Invité
Fredrik Norrman: Guitares / Invité
Ilona Vapaakallio: Invité / Violoncelle
Mari Jämbäck: Chant / Invité
Ville Sorvali: Chant / Invité
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STAFF:
3/5 (1 view(s))
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