Iterum Nata – From the Infinite Light (2024)
Artist: Iterum Nata
Album: From the Infinite Light
Genre: Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Folk Rock
Label: Nordvis
Year Of Release: 2024
Quality: FLAC (tracks)
Tracklist:
01. Overture Limitless Light (4:52)
02. This Gleaming Eternity (4:19)
03. A Manifested Nightmare (4:50)
04. Ambrosia (4:33)
05. The Drifter (3:47)
06. A Darkness Within (3:45)
07. Something Truly Almighty (7:15)
08. The Crown of All (4:51)
Personnel:
– Jesse Heikkinen / performer, guitars, vocals
– Matron Thorn / performer
– Rob Coffinshaker / performer (6)
– Richard Kaczynski / performer
Do you know why I like myself a session with Leonard Cohen from time to time? Because this long-departed artist exudes a calm and welcome respite from the hectic search-and-review missions across all those metal genres out there. His age-old records offer some private time of respite and introspection. Something we should have more of in these dangerous times.
Now, Cohen’s style might sound somewhat similar to some of Dark Folk outfits on this zine. Some of the more ethereal pieces of similar ilk firmly had their stakes in Black Metal before and suddenly feel the need to call upon ghostly apparitions and legendary monsters. Morose gothic urges meet age-old archaic undercurrents. Time for more navel-gazing.
So, here the RMR crew was stopped cold by one Jesse Heikkinen and his solo incarnation Iterum Nata (Born Again). He famously plays in a plethora of bands all featuring different flavors of Black and Progressive Metal with some doom attached. So, From The Infinite Light – unsurprisingly – rushes forth in a robe of an almost avant-garde version of Dark Folk and Folk Rock with some Post Black Metal attached for good measure. A record imbued with melancholy and dread, drunk on quiet beats of desolation.
And – in a way – the record reminds me of the wispy airs of the last Dawnwalker piece (This Gleaming Eternity, for instance) with a good dose of somnambulant Final Coil attached. And before ya all insult the screen in front of you, you’re right, of course. From the Infinite Light ain’t no metal object, even though you’ll find some metallic elements on the disk.
So, why are we invoking the difficult demons of Post Black Metal? Well, head down to Something Truly Almighty, for instance. Apart from a slowly grinding groove, you’ll find delicate background tremolos amid all those tasteful synth keys. This is an album that positively gorges with them. Yet not everything glows darkly with blackened elements. A Darkness Within1 – for example – invokes the aforementioned Leonard Cohen again, complete with an acoustic solo straight in the middle. And there we were thinking that the latter was only good for some sort of barebone Folk Rock.
The whole record is full of hypnotic repetitions – and it positively relishes in those dreamy airs. Some may say that the record would need some focus here to render it crisper. But the RMR Review Desk would like to differ. From The Infinite Light thrives in that kind of atmosphere. A Manifested Nightmare – for instance – wouldn’t be at such a high level of quality without them. After all, this track manifests some pretty juicy gothic melancholy amid some ominous lyrics.
I also marveled at the balanced set of songs on the tracklist. From feistily dark songs, you get others like The Drifter. This is a simple rock song with a story – and a welcome reprieve for the ears. Or the Darkwave-ish Ambrosia that expertly marks the mid-point of that record wafting silently along the soundscape.
If only some parts of From the Infinite Light were not so totally bricked up, things would look much better. Those truly torture the ears once the compressors kick in to pull things back on track. It’s that spotty wobbly feeling all over again, and that’s a pity. Some more attention to the mix and master might have worked wonders. So, here, some parts sadly sound like coming out of a blender.
Finally, From the Infinite Light got under our skin in many more ways than one. All of the songs sport a reluctant and frail beauty. There’s no mindless wailing that you’d typically find on those archaically inclined records. Instead, you’ll find yourself adrift in a world of monsters and caliginous landscapes, all coming in shades of black and grey. This is yet another of those records so out-of-the-box it had to get on the RMR feed. A pretty pristine example of subtly raw and delicate Post Black Metal with enough folk-laden spice to counter the terrible monster-filled mists.
Now, show me the way out of this fearsome and somber world of Iterum Nata. It will drive me nuts, else. There’s no quiet introspection here.
by RockmusicRaider
