Greetings prog dogs (no one calls you that), and welcome to week three of Thinking Man’s Thursday. Your weekly dose of metal that makes you go “Hmmmmmm.”
In this entry I make up for overlooking the mighty Perihelion Ship last year. Their debut album, A Rare Thunderstorm in Spring, is an album that I have been (digitally) spinning for the better part of a year now. I fully intended to list it my year-end round up for 2016 and just spaced it somehow, which is a shame. However, here I am to rectify that this week.
Perihelion Ship are a four-piece progressive metal outfit from Finland. They currently only have two releases; a demo and A Rare Thunderstorm in Spring. I guess one could argue their demo of their debut counts as a release, but meh. The proper full-length was released independently last January on bandcamp, and is a god damned prog masterpiece.
It is hard not to think of the Opeth while listening to this record. One could hear all eras of influences from our Swedish heroes on Thunderstorm. Hell, the opening track, “Misplaced Rainfall,” sounds like it could paying homage to Deliverance in its sheer length and might, yet it has the whimsy of the lighter moments of Sorceress and Pale Communion. Although, one could argue that there is more of nod to Deliverance simply because growls are present. None of this is to say that Perihelion Ship is just an attempt to be an Opeth clone, but they do remind me of the better days. The Metal Archives actually only lists Mikael and pals under the “Similar Artists” tab. However, they also remind me of lesser known acts like Cormorant, Hammers of Misfortune, and even Agalloch at times.
The vocal delivery is closer to that of a folk metal band. Vocalist/guitarist Andreas Hammer (fucking metal name by the way) sounds like A less soaring ICS Vortex (ex-Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar, etc.). It’s not that he couldn’t reach that level of bombast (he may tell you he can’t), but it’s as if the clean vocals are intentionally subdued in a way that lets characters within the instruments shine instead. The growls are evil and spooky though.
Like most prog bands, the band traverse a litany of sounds. There is a Latin influence in “The Emperor Idea,” there are baroque moments specifically in the the Hammond organ of Jani Konttinen throughout, and so much more. “Fools of White Antlers” may be the most pleasantly jarring track on the album as it has the haunting moments of a Deep Purple ballad with a Tool-esque bass-driven breakdown, that just kills.
This band is just getting going, and I look forward to whatever comes next.
Get A Rare Thunderstorm in Spring by Perihelion ship at their bandcamp below.
