I love finding new bands, particularly when they push genre boundaries and aren’t afraid of bombast and complexity. Such is the case with “Perdition,” the brand new release from Finland’s Karu. The most basic description would be symphonic death metal, but this is so much more, an orchestral cinematic experience blending the aggression of death and black metal, melancholic doomy melodies, somber haunting atmosphere, and intricate symphonic elements. Fused with this is a feudal Japanese fantasy concept and associated instrumentation which further fuels the unique feel. The band unleashes maximum fury regularly, blazing drums and speed riffing galore, with brutal growls and screams, tremolo picking matched by speedy orchestration, and amazing guitar leads and solos. The transitions are melodic and ethereal, and there is sparing use of spooky voice narration, adding a haunting cinematic quality that pushes the underlying narrative along. This is an album that took multiple listens to really start appreciating a lot of the intricacies and complexity due to the sheer amount going on, but it rewards the diligent listener with its rich textures. I haven’t heard anything quite like this, but imagine some of the complexity of Aephanemer, the structure of Vintersea, and the turgidity of Fleshgod Apocalypse or Children of Bodom, and you might have some idea what is in store.

The band takes you into feudal Japan immediately in the first track, “Shores of Mist and Blood,” a cinematic instrumental opening that feels like it is preparing you for war. This leads into “Shadow War,” which absolutely pulverizes you with blazing drums surrounded by epic orchestration, hits you with a thrashy death groove, and then envelopes you in a symphonic black metal offering, all while delivering a blackened death vocal approach. Things slow down into a heavy groove, with what sounds like the clinking of either chains or swords in the background, then delivering an epic melodic guitar solo before dropping dynamics into an eerie whispered passage.

“Shadow War” gets a bit doomier at this point, with atmospheric clean vocals and a deliberate guitar lead over heft, and then reprises the intro pummeling, treating your ears to more growls, guitar solos, and choir-like vocals near the end. The song feels like it is broken up into various passages, or even chapters of a book, adding to the saga-like feel.

“Alone in the Forest” exactly makes you feel that way, with its somber cello, sounds of the forest, and funeral doom vibe. The song does a great job creating atmosphere, utilizing the orchestration, strings, and guitar melodies to create tension and anticipation. The band likes their long intros, as there are no vocals until the 3:45 mark. At this point the song has settled into a campfire folk feel, complete with crackling bonfire and strummed acoustic guitar. This doesn’t last long, as the song builds into an epic symphonic death doom feel, with dueling epic cleans and growls and cinematic bombast that continues when the drums begin to blaze, but only briefly before retreating back to mid-pace. The use of traditional Japanese instruments and sounds adds to the ambiance and flavor.

“Embers in the Sky” is another short instrumental that evokes the Japanese spirit. It segueways perfectly into “Trail of Fire,” which has a killer symphonic melodic death metal intro and moves along at a breakneck pace. The guitar melodies are really nice, with a mix of tremolo picking and light lead, mirrored at times by the orchestration that really makes the song sound grandiose. I love how the first true guitar solo serves as a transition to an atmospheric cinematic passage, making you feel as if you are marching on the trail of fire itself, complete with haunting narration to continue moving the story along. You then get your head ripped off again with blasting symphonic black metal overlaid with a nice guitar solo, before transitioning into a haunting outro. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album.

“Path of the Unforgiven” is an epic sounding doomy instrumental, preparing you for the longest song on the album, the title track. It takes no time hitting the ground running with its speedy death metal assault. This song is very guitar lead forward, showing off plenty of technical prowess over the top of a crushing drum attack. There are a number of textures explored in this song, including speedy brutality, more of the fireside folksy acoustic feel, powerful guitar-driven doominess with big vocals, and a symphonic atmosphere stitching it all together. The band does a great job evoking mood through great use of dynamics and various melodies, and like earlier in the album, the use of natural sounds make you feel like you are a part of the ongoing saga.

This is definitely an album that doesn’t fit cleanly into any one bucket, and I find myself enjoying it more when I am paying closer attention to all the details. I am happy to have found it, and if you would like something a bit different in the extreme metal arena, you should check this album out.

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