A strange shift seems to have occurred in the world of Oranssi Pazuzu. While the Finns’ unique blend of black metal, psychedelia and kosmische music could never rightly be called normal, album number six sees them pressing ever further into the unknown, and not much caring who follows.
The band’s sound was built on impeccable riffcraft and Jun-His’s wonderfully blackened goblin gurgles, which were then imbued with meditative qualities demanding deep, uninterrupted listening. But, if landmark releases like Mestarin Kynsi and Värähtelijä were akin to being gently submerged in dark, oily waters, Muuntautuja is like being unexpectedly dragged down into cold depths and finding yourself surrounded by blind, carnivorous eels.
Things prod, scrape and rattle; obsidian surfaces that might once have been buffed to a smooth reflective sheen are now spiderwebbed with cracks. Caustic noise and uneasy dissonance have been front-loaded, with these elements sculpted into cruel new shapes.
The title track gradually unveils a scratchy, machine-have-taken-over aesthetic, while Hautatuuli features a gluey, dubby riff that, weirdly, wouldn’t seem out of place on an early Cypress Hill album. Ikikäärme starts off by sounding like minimalist composer Arvo Pärt scoring a horror film before such illusions are shattered by a series of grotesquely improper blarts, and album closer Vierivä Usva exhibits lurking sci-fi synths.
Muuntautuja can initially sound too scattered, too close to unravelling; it’s like something wild and untrustworthy that doesn’t seek your attention but is willing to bite if your concentration wavers. This means it’s perhaps an entry point if you’re not yet fully immersed in the band’s startling, sprawling work, but it’s nonetheless a trip for those who’ve been wondering what the band might transform into next.
Muuntautuja is out October 11 via Nuclear Blast
