Ilon Lapset – Mykkä Pimeys

Ilon Lapset is a sludge/doom metal quartet from Tampere, Finland. Band’s line-up includes; Markus (guitar), Julle (bass), Hannu (drums) and Lauri (vocals). After some delays and peripeties, the new highly-anticipated sophomore album is out now! It’s entitled Mykkä Pimeys containing six tracks spread on 35 minutes of the sound that is crushing, desperate, cold and tortured.

I’ve been listening to this Pro CD Digipack (limited to 150 copies and released jointly by Visceral Circuitry from France and Rämekuukkeli from Finland, and I must say that the overall impression is that Mykkä Pimeys sounds as a well-crafted album. As briefly mentioned in the introduction above, the music blends doom and sludge metal elements, where all the qualities of the doom/sludge genre came through on Mykkä Pimeys. It results in this rather massive, heavy and yet emotionally impactful sound, with a strong emphasis on despair and hopelessness. Tempo is typically slow, but it often incorporates faster, death metal influenced sections, and sometimes even a nauseous industrial psychedelia parts.

The vocals can best be described as tortured and horrid, adding to the overall feeling of despair and hopelessness as described earlier. Furthermore, Mykkä Pimeys features some very strong instrumental work, with main focus on slow & crushing riffs. Thus, guitars and bass are heavily distorted, utilizing feedback to create a sludgy, abrasive sound that is so essential for this kind of music. Drumming is mostly slow and is often similar to doom metal’s style of drumming.

Tracklist:

1. Hukkaan

2. Sotaa

3. Rangaistus

4. Juon yksin

5. Ei vastausta

6. Pimeyden sydän

Album highlights for me are the song called “Sotaa” being a very somber offering where the riff moves slow while the vocals indicate a deep torture, and the closing track named “Pimeyden sydän” as it leaves the listener with a feeling of being desolated, hopeless, being locked and tortured. The songs most often stretch beyond the six-minute mark, which makes them even more intense than any of your usual sludge/doom favorites.

Overall Mykkä Pimeys is a well-crafted and engaging album recommended for fans of doom and sludge metal, particularly those who appreciate a dark, oppressive and suffocating atmosphere and a focus on emotional intensity.

Get it from: https://visceralcircuitryrecs.bandcamp.com/album/mykk-pimeys