By Ryan J. Nims
Apart from a few outliers–namely Deftones, Tool, and Fear Factory–I was never a huge fan of heavy metal. Yeah, I’ve liked what Metallica has done, and have seen Mötley Crüe live, but when it came to “extreme” metal, I was pretty much clueless and not particularly interested.
Then COVID-19 happened and I began to develop a taste for more extreme forms of metal. Pyramids was first. with their alien mashup of dream-pop and black metal. After that, I started to seek out other bands who were making avant garde heavy music. Eventually, that led to my discovery of Finland’s Oranssi Pazuzu, who has become one of my most listened to artists of late.
While considered a psychedelic black metal band, they seem far more influenced by German krautrock than by Norwegian second wave black metal–though it has that DNA. The vocals are raw and menacing, but the instrumentation is layered and complex. The production is by no means lo-fi, but is also not polished. Their music pulls from diverse sources such as metal and psych rock, but also jazz and electronica. I have trouble calling Oranssi Pazuzu’s music black metal in the strictest sense. It’s definitely psychedelic and it’s certainly heavy. Whatever you call Oranssi Pazuzu’s music, it’s weird. Really weird: odd time signatures, discordant phrasing, and generally spooky vibes are the name of the game.
February 26th marks the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough LP, Värähtelijä (2017 Svart/20 Buck Spin). Loosely translating to “Oscillator,” the album is the band’s fourth album overall, and sees them leaning further into space rock and prog than on previous albums.
Formed in Tampere, Finland in 2007, the band consists of guitarist and vocalist Jun-His (credited in all albums as “the Voice”), bassist and lyricist Ontto, drummer Korjak, Evill on keyboards and percussion, and guitarist Moit who left in 2016 (now considered “Astral Level Member” of the band). Moit was replaced by current guitarist Ikon. The band name contains the Finnish word for the color orange, and the Mesopotamian wind demon, Pazuzu. The band’s lyrics are exclusively performed in Finnish.
The album opens with “Saturaatio” (Saturation) an intense track with motorik beat and buzzing guitars. Over its almost 12 minute runtime, the song gets more and more unhinged, with hectic organ and trippy guitar sounds punctuating the middle section. The drums keep unusual time, as the song enters its final stretch before the song fades away entirely.
“Lahja” (Gift) was one of the first songs I heard from Oranssi Pazuzu. A tribal drum beat and soft vibraphones swirl before the guitars kick in, giving a sense of slight disorientation before Jun-His finally comes in with growled vocals. The guitars are closer to shoegaze than traditional metal; awash with feedback and noise. The video for “Lahja” is equally disorienting: a young woman emerges from a watery slumber, and wanders through a snowy forest, observing people taking part in strange rituals (a man smoke-dancing, men painting a symbol on someone’s back, etc), before sitting with a young man at a table in silent communion.
Musically “Värähtelijä” (Oscillator) almost sounds like it belongs in a spy film, if that film were set in Hell. Jun-His’s processed vocals give an ominous air to an otherwise slow-paced track. Despite the dark aura the song gives, the lyrics end on a positive note:
I am a vessel of light
Spreading love
Colors inside
Oscillator
“Hypnotisoitu Viharukous” (Hypnotized Prayer of Anger) is a hypnotic symphony of strangeness. The keyboards churn like some kind of demented calliope, while Jun-His screams his vocals in terrorizing agony.
The 16 minute “Vasemman Käden Hierarkia” (Left Hand Heirarchy) is a masterwork of heavy psych: extended instrumental passages, funky guitars, and a bombastic rhythm section.
“Havuluu” (Coniferous Bone) is a slow burn. Starting quiet and cinematic, the song builds and becomes more and more chaotic. The drums are lightning fast and the guitars buzz like chainsaws.
The album closer “Valveavaruus” (Valve Space) is a droning, almost operatic track. The keyboards really steal the show, switching between harpsichord and foreboding organ sounds. The lyrics speak of eldritch cosmic horrors:
In the light of nature, the breathing of the night thickens
And waking space flows
The path is on fire
The path is in ashes
Traces lost in the shadow of the forest
This is a good album, though I find myself listening more to the later two albums, Mestarin Kynsi (Master’s Claw) (2020, Nuclear Blast) and Muuntautuja (Shapeshifter) (2024, Nuclear Blast). Those albums are no less weird–in fact they may even up the ante on the unearthly strangeness–but incorporate more industrial and trip hop elements into the psych-metal stew. I’d recommend this band to anyone who is into the heavier side of avant garde music. Listeners of Search and Destroy (Saturdays 6:00-7:00 pm) Commercial Suicide (Sundays 8:30-10:00 pm) will likely find something to enjoy in Oranssi Pazuzu’s music.
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