KAUAN — Lumikuuro (review)

Album · 2007 · Doom Metal

4/5 · 2022-08-26
siLLy puPPy

KAUAN is a fairly strange band and not only due to the fact that band formed in the heart of Siberian Russia in the city of Chelyabinsk and adopted the Finnish language as its form of lyrical expression but also in the fact that the band began as a bizarre mix of doom / black / folk / post-metal along with dark folk and post-rock and then dropped the metal altogether only to revive it. The band’s name means “For A Long Time” in the Finnish language and this debut album LUMIKUURO translates as “Snow shed” which doesn’t bring much metal to mind does it?

Well truth be told, KAUAN isn’t a regular metal band at all. In fact i would call it a post-rock / dark ambient band that just HAPPENS to incorporate doom and black metal to the mix. The band was inspired by Agalloch’s “The Mantle” and that is exactly what you can expect on LUMIKUURO, namely a Finno-Russian take on that classic album only set to a much mellower pace with pianos as the main metal instrument leading the melodic way. At this stage the band was a mere trio consisting of Anton Belov, the founder on guitar, vocals and keyboards. Also on board is Lubov Mushnikova on violin and Alexander Borovikh on guitar on backing vocals.

So what’s up with Finnish as the language of choice in the heart of Siberia? Well, it wasn’t because any of the members were from Finland! On the contrary Belov was enchanted by the lyrical delivery of Finnish metal bands which focused more on vowel sounds rather than the consonant harshness of Russian but also deemed that the scarcity of Finnish speakers would enshroud the band’s lyrical delivery in a mysticism in virtually every part of the globe except for the world of Finland of course! Overall a pretty unique approach and having studied the Finnish language myself for a few months, i have to say that i’m impressed at the effort in taking on this Finno-Ugric language of a mere 6 million or so speakers.

Musically i would say that LUMIKUURO is mostly like the softer parts of Agalloch’s “The Mantle” and that’s not to say it’s a clone in any way. This band at this stage somehow amalgamated Finnish and Russian folk with aspects of doom metal, black metal and dark ambient but there is always a piano to lead in the main melody before the rest of the eclectic mix plays off of it. The album has eight tracks and mostly soars in the gloomy doomy section of the metal universe when it turns up the distortion. Sort of like a piano-led My Dying Bride with a stealthy violin presence with black metal vocals and a heavy dose of atmospheric dynamics. The album is more atmospheric than rocking and is basically a post-rock album with metal accouterments so no head banging on this one.

Given the band’s Finno-Urgric fascination, KAUAN has relocated to Estonia in the present day and continues the shtick laid down on LUMIKUURO. This is by all means an art metal sorta album and mostly non-metal to be honest as the metal moments are fleeting yet effective as a point of contrast. These are hauntingly beautiful melodies that pierce the soul as they are mined from centuries old traditions of folk music. The members of KAUAN have the gift of bringing these sounds to the modern age and adapting them to the modern world. Once again when i say LUMIKUURO is influence by “The Mantle” that is a good thing. Despite the overall comparisons, this album actually sounds fairly unique from my experience. Doomy, gloomy but in a way that makes you realize there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Interesting band for sure