Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja (2024)

Each album from Oranssi Pazuzu is different and special, and Muuntautuja is no exception. This time the prog/psych elements is less obvious and the band goes in a more dissonant industrial avant-garde black metal direction, with also some ambient/trip-hop elements. Like always with Oranssi Pazuzu it defies easy description, but imagining a music somewhere between Blut Aus Nord and Massive Attack could give you an idea of the kind of atmospheres they built in Muuntautuja. Another sucessful experiment and really interesting album from Oranssi Pazuzu.

The BC page.

Best of 2020 : Death, black, hardcore & sludge

 Here are my 10 favourite death metal, black metal, hardcore and sludge albums released in 2020. Alphabetical order. Click on the name to go to the review.

Cytotoxin - Nuklearth

 

Dephosphorus - Sublimation

 

Dropdead - Dropdead 

Eye Flys - Tub of Lard

Fange - Pudeur

Ils - Curse

 

Imperial Triumphant- Alphaville

Khthoniik Cerviiks - Æquiizoiikum

Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

Skeletal Remains - The Entombment of Chaos

 

 

 

Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi (2020)

The cover art of Mestarin Kynsi gives quite a good idea of the music, as usual with Oranssi Pazuzu it's some very weird black metal, in which now only the singing, as usual in Finnish, is still strictly speaking black metal. This fifth album follow where Värähtelijä left and goes further but also in a different direction, the good thing is that there's no more boring ambient/drone parts, and instead there's more psychedelic/progressive kraut/King Crimson elements, maybe also a bit more melodies, still mostly in a dark and dissonant vein. But more importantly the songs are more dynamic and inspired in my opinion. I think with Mestarin Kynsi they again managed to craft another masterpiece. Highly recommended!

The Bandcamp page.

Oranssi pazuzu - Värähtelijä (2016)

Värähtelijä is Oranssi pazuzu fourth album (again on Svart records), and is coming after the excellent Valionelu (read HERE my review of it ). Värähtelijä has everything I love about Oranssi pazuzu (kraut-prog rock meets black metal in short) and at the same time it's again a different beast. Darker, more abstract and repetitive, less dynamic maybe, not less rocking but rocking on a more kraut beat, more ambient, less "prog' rock" but more dark psychedelia. It's harder to get into it, but also it's good to have them back to a more weird and nightmarish feel after a more colourful Valionelu. They still are really different and special. I had great expectations for this album (Oranssi pazuzu is one of my favourite band) and it does not disappoint me. Really trippy and powerfull in its unique way.

The Bandcamp page

2013 : the heavy, sludgy and / or psychedelic moments

here's my selection of my favourite albums released in 2013 that belongs to the heavy / trippy family : heavy metal, doom, heavy rock, sludge, psychedelic rock and stuff related. 16 albums not really given in a specific order.
of course you're welcome to  say in the comments section which other album would, in your opinion, deserves to be in this kind of list.

-Oranssi pazuzu - Valonielu                           my review

-Windhand - Soma                                          my review

-Subrosa - More constant than the gods        my review

-Horse latitudes - black soil                           my review & interview

-The Body - Christs, redeemers                      my review

-Battilus - concrete sustain                             my review

-Nibiru - Caosgon                                           my review & interview

-Pyramidal - frozen galaxies                          my review

-Seven sisters of sleep - opium morals           my review

-Primitive man - scorn                                    my review

-Blaak heat Shujaa - The edge of an era        my review

-Zodiac - A place to hide                                 my review

-Hollow mirros - Hollow mirrors II                my review

-Valient Thorr - our own masters                   my review

-Naam - vow                                                   my review

-Domovoyd - Oh sensibility                             my review

Oranssi pazuzu - Valonielu (2013)

The new Oranssi pazuzu arrive to take us to a new mind blowing musical trip! it's called Valonielu, released by Svart records (20 buck spin for the US) and it was one of my most anticipated album because I was completely won by their previous works (find HERE my review of their previous album, coming with an interview). expectations were high but I'm not disapointed! what's great is that they manage another time to do something different while maintaining the quality and keeping their special touch. this time the atmosphere is less dissonantly nightmarish and the vocals are the only black metal element remaining, the melodies are in brighter colours and the vibe and rhythms are more krautrock, with also more keys part in a sci-fi spacey mood. I'd say Valonielu would be more Can meeting Arcturus whereas Kosmonument was more Mayhem meeting King crimson. what remains the same, is the ability of the band to produce surprising music taking you far away in a surrealistic like trip.

http://www.oranssipazuzu.com/

Oranssi Pazuzu

Kosmonument by the finnish band Oranssi Pazuzu is an aptly named record (released in 2011 by Spinefarm records). It is indeed a kind of musical monument celebrating cosmic, trippy and dark music. It sound like an encounter between Mayhem and King crimson (without never sounding like a rip off. I name these bands only to get you figure what kind of music it is), it's a spacey travel into dark atmoshperes, heaviness, a few bast beats here and there, weird melodies, dissonant riffs, and singing in finnish that adds to the strangeness of the music. Very special and good music, a sonic experience that I recommend you highly.

Check also their first record (this one is the second) called Muukaiainen puhuu, different but also very original and good.

HERE is the band official page.

Korjak from Oranssi Pazuzu kindly answered to some questions I asked the band. Read it below :

-To start with can you present the band, its members, what was the project at the start and how it evolved until now?

Korjak:  We started the band with Ontto, Jun-His and Evill sometime in 2007. Very soon we realized that there was space for more colors in our music. After a while Moit was invited to join our group. Evill and Moit took the space area and filled it with their magic. Once we got the lineup finished we’ve been searching new ways to make music that has a strong atmosphere but which also has powerful taste of unknown inside of it.

-Do you play, or have played in other bands?

Jun-His is playing guitar in Candy Cane these days. They will probably record an album at some point.  Some of us have some other projects too, but not many that would be interesting for Pazuzu fans for now. 

-How did you get to that special mix of black metal, and dark prog/space rock?

It came quite naturally. The first heartbeat for the idea of this band came through the enthusiasm to Black Metal as new inspiring genre for Jun-His and Ontto.  Soon it was very clear that no-one of us wanted to do Black Metal as a mirror of what’s been already done in that genre.  In my opinion music of Oranssi Pazuzu is a mixture of five individuals playing music that we felt was missing from the world we know.  I think these days a strong atmosphere is the only lasting element that really leads us forward on our musical trip. Otherwise the goals are constantly changing.  

-With what kind of band do you play with usually? with what band would you like to play?

We really enjoy sharing evenings with interesting bands. Last year we were doing a night with Mono for example. In this spring we have a possibility to play with Dark Buddha Rising and Jex Thoth. We’re really looking forward to play with these great bands. Even though Finland is a small country, there are quite many inspiring bands to play with

-I know that Kosmonument is a concept album, but what is this concept? what are your lyrics about (I don't understand finnish!)?

The vision behind Kosmonument can be seen as a three different ways of how our planet will be destroyed and how an individual escapes this massive destruction to outer space. What will happen then? Or did it all just happen in your mind?  Ontto is the master behind our lyrical themes so probably you have to ask him if you want more details. By the way, you can find also the English version of the lyrics from the album cover.

-The weird cover art for Kosmonument is pretty cool and goes really well with the atmosphere of the music, was it painted especially for the record?

Album art was painted by Olli Kiviluoto. Olli is a truly friend of ours and a very talented artist. Yeah, the original painting was made while listening to our demos for Kosmonument and it was made especially for the record. It seems Olli were deep enough in our music to do such incredible and well-fitting artwork for the record. 

 -I saw that you have a deal with spinefarm record for the next album; can you tell us more about your association with spinefarm (which is the biggest metal label in Finland isn't it?)?

Kosmonument was released through Spinefarm records. About one year back we asked from Teemu Suominen if Spinefarm want to release our next album. Teemu said yes. The start of our co-operation was quite simple and easy, I would say. Time will tell what happens with our next album. That is how it usually goes in these days - at least in Finland.  Deals are made for one record at a time. 

-Do do already have precise ideas about how will sound the next album? I find Kosmonument heavier and maybe more tortured and dissonant than Muukalainen puhuu, will you continue in that direction?

After Muukalainen puhuu we felt that there were elements in that album we needed to focus on more and go deeper with.  I think that is what quite much happened on Kosmonument.  With next album we probably take some other elements and go further into steam with them. We have ideas of what will happen in our music in the future, but what direction we’re going to choose for the next album… I don’t know yet. Our music is anyway in continuing progress.

-You have the Roadburn and the Hellfest festival on your agenda, I guess you are exited to play there! aren't you? do you intend to play more shows in France (I would be glad to see you in Montpellier or nearby, in the south of France where I live!)

We are looking forward to play in these festivals. Members of OP have been in Roadburn listening bands and enjoying that unique atmosphere for a couple of times.  Then Hellfest… it will be the first really big festival for us outside of Finland. I hope we’re able to play more shows also in France during the next summer or fall. We’ve been playing outside of Finland only few times so this year will be very exciting period for us to live through. 

-Which other good band from your area should we check?

Mr Peter Hayden, Hexvessel, Circle, Dark Buddha Rising, Swallowed just to name a few.  

-What are you interested in apart from music?

Life is interesting. 

-Do you have something to add?

Thanks for the interview.