The Year Of Relinquishment

The concisely named V is another Finnish band who’ve come out of the woodwork with a debut album that really leaves an instant impression – and a good one at that. I’ve seen their hybrid mixture of different metal stylings and a hefty amount of melodies usually placed under the “post metal” label. I’d name Katatonia as a inspirational kindred spirit as well. I can see how the often slowly churning riffage and very melancholic atmosphere would lead to such a conclusion, but personally post metal as a genre reminds me of the kind of shoe-gazing soundwash-boredom related to bands like Isis. The Year Of Relinquishment is not boring by any means. The lead-heavy base of the band’s churning brings a distinctly doomy vibe to the procedings but they also know how to mix things up nicely. Listen to the rapid fire motion of Eden Burning or Wraith (sweet blast beats, by the way) and you’ll know damn clearly that simple doom metal isn’t the name of the game. Wings is probably my favourite tune thus far with its nifty double bass pace and a very juicy chorus. The group’s front man and singer Jupe Velin has a very good grasp on both guttural growls and more melodic vocals which he uses in a very good balance between each other. While no one would mistake him for Bruce Dickinson or George Fischer that quickly, this is really solid and versatile stuff from a young vocalist I’ve heard for the first time. For the hankerchief crowd, softer tunes like Graysnow and Given to the Rising provide some very lush acoustic guitars and lulling moments among the ever-present heaviness. A few of the tunes like Trailblazer and The Snake Spawning are left feeling mediocre next to these better tunes but there are no fiascos to speak of. Extra kudos must also be given to the splendid, absolutely splendid production job. Maybe on a global scale it’s not that massive impressive but...oh flock that, yes it is. Man, I’m loving these iron-clad sounds. All the more impressive for such a relatively small-scale release. Put all these elements together on a debut record and we’ve got one of the most pleasant surprises of the year that promises a good amount for the future from V.