Ceresian Valot
Uumen

THE REVIEW

These too were a completely random discovery for me, all it took was a post from a page, eh. The Finnish Ceresian Valot are actually pretty good. They debuted last year with an album in line with a certain Nordic metal tradition, but that doesn't mean it's lacking in interesting solutions.

The music basically oscillates between gothic metal, doom metal, progressive metal, and even a pinch of post-rock can't be ruled out. Honestly, the sound isn't that heavy, not over the top, the guitars never go too far, plus there are no growls or similarly harsh elements. Even the degree of darkness isn't that pronounced, and all of this ends up making it a fairly accessible product, even despite the length of some of the tracks. In line with the blend proposed, all the songs have a slow pace, sometimes calm and relaxed, sometimes tense and aggressive, sometimes growing in intensity and sometimes fading. The atmosphere matches well with the northern landscape, halfway between conifers, ice, and lakes, but without ever feeling excessively gray.

What makes it interesting are the excellent synth insertions, which peek through with thin yet incredibly well-crafted sounds, never overblown, at times timidly abrasive but most often delicate, though always warped and off-kilter; nevertheless, some more traditional mellotron is also present, albeit re-adapted and well integrated into the context.

The choice to sing in their mother tongue is an additional point of interest. In a world where everyone opts for English to reach everyone, such a decision can be interpreted not only as a sense of belonging to one's homeland but also as an example of authenticity and self-assurance, or perhaps as hermeticism, something along the lines of “mi sento libero di esprimermi come voglio, non devo per forza essere capito.” Well, if Sigur Rós sang in Icelandic (sometimes even in an invented language) and were widely successful, why couldn't the same be done with Finnish? In any case, the language choice is perhaps the only real challenging element inserted within a rather accessible musical framework.

An album suitable for fans of bands like Agalloch or Alcest, but also for those who maybe can't stomach too much darkness, certain raspy vocals, or harshness. Personally, they immediately reminded me of the more “refined” Green Carnation… the “worrying” thing (so to speak, it's pure irony) is that these Finns, in 2025, have made a more interesting album than the slightly more established Norwegians. In any case, “Uumen” is definitely a gem.