Band:	Finnr's Cane
Album:	Wanderlust
Style:	Atmospheric black metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	March 20, 2010
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. The Healer
02. Snowfall
03. A Winter For Shut-Ins
04. The Lost Traveller
05. Glassice
06. The Hope For Spring
07. Eternal
08. House Of Memory

Atmospheric black metal
Canada
Frostscald Records

Line-up on the CD:
The Bard - vocals, guitar
The Peasant - drums
The Slave - synthesizers, cello


These guys are weird: their band name is weird, their concept is weird, even their sound is weird. And I love it. Probably because I'm weird. But you don't have to be weird to enjoy Finnr's Cane's debut album, Wanderlust. You do have to leave your expectations at the door and enter with an open mind, however.

Atmospheric black metal is one of those genres where a lot of bands are tagged with the same limited descriptor, yet so many variables are overlooked due to the seemingly omnipotent classification. These defiant Canadians are here to prove that some bands will fight to outmaneuver their genre restrictions, even if it means pushing the envelope. Mixing dark ambiance and post-jazz-influenced drumming techniques with what can only be described as an overpowering jam session makes Wanderlust a truly dark horse in a sea of unicorns. Weird enough for you yet?

Wanderlust is a showcase for delicacy - beauty in nature, tranquility in times of anxiety, solace in the face of peril. Through its esoteric harmonies one can find an unlimited source of energetic relaxation. Naturally when an album is faced with such a bombardment of paradoxes it is often due to its versatility, and in this case Finnr's Cane provide us with a plethora of texture. The key here is the subdued infrastructure. At first listen Wanderlust glides by without much notice, sometimes translucent and not substantial enough to garner any real attention; however, further inspection reveals the band's compassion and integrity, making for a more aerial perception. There are tedious moments that break up the easygoing listen, though they are too few and far between to make a real disturbance.

The Peasant's black metal blastbeats augment the effervescent chants and shrieks of The Bard, while The Slave supplies woeful melodies with stupefying synth work, adding to an already muddled ideology:

There once lived a peasant who grew up in a poor village near the kingdom. All his life he desired nothing more than knowledge, so when he heard about the river of ethereal knowledge, naturally he was excited. He soon became consumed by the desire to find this sacred place.

One day he ran into a mysterious looking old woman who saw him and immediately approached him, saying "Very few have ever returned from seeing the river of ethereal knowledge. They say that a god's knowledge can kill a man."

Ignoring her warnings, he asked her if she knew its location. She laughed loudly at him.

"But don't you see it? It is all around us. It is not a physical manifestation, but rather a method of perception."

He looked around him and thought about what she said, but still didn't understand.

"Close your eyes," she told him. And he did.

Just then, The Bard came in and began playing the most beautiful music... Entranced by the sounds, The Peasant slipped away into a wild hallucination.

Snowwaves, Windbells, Glassice.

And that is Finnr's Cane in a nut shell. Like all music it is merely a method of perception when deciding whether or not what you hear is "good" or "bad". The difference matters not, however, for Wanderlust is all around us.


Website: http://www.myspace.com/finnrscane