Noumena - Anima (2020)

Crafting a very unique and yet recognizable sound, Finland’s Noumena delivers “Anima”, their latest full-length effort. Mixing a folkier edge to traditional Melodic Death Metal similar to bands like Wolfheart and early Amorphis, the band unleashes nearly one hour of expertly crafted music that will appeal genre nostalgics while introducing a few different elements into the mix.

After the folky opening with “Kaiku”, the band’s sound oozes emotions and melody in the superbly crafted “Saatto”. Alongside the weeping lead guitars and growls, we have lively clean female vocals and very solemn slower passages. In full-on Amorphis worship, “Murtuneet” and “Seula” made us instantly think that we had our playlist on shuffle, however, the band continues to infuse their uniqueness to the music with a jazzy bass guitar line and some killer guitar leads.

With a more Insomnium vibe, “Ajaton” features excellent melodic guitars and crafty vocal arrangements, creating a very dreamy and yet brilliant headbanging experience. Our personal favorite song has to be the playful “Totuus”, a song that perfectly contrasts the use of clean and harsh vocals while delivering waves of powerful riffs and very dramatic guitar leads, which nicely bleed into “Anima”, after an ethereal opening passage.

The release closes with the very dramatic “Joutsen”, a song that is quite moody and mellow. Overall, Noumena has managed to deliver a very impressive and very Finnish release. The band builds up on ideas of others in the genre and manages to craft their own unique sound that is quite polished and engaging. If you like Finnish Metal and want a new band to discover, be sure to check “Anima” out.

Label: Haunted Zoo Productions

Release: September 4th, 2020

Genre: Melodic Death/Doom Metal

Country: Finland