Tenhi - Airut: aamuien

*=Staff's pick	Saapuminen Seitsensarvi Lävitseni Kaikkeen Luopumisen Laulu* Kuvajainen* Oikea Sointi Kahluu Hiensynty Läheltä

Genre	Folk/Prog. Metal	Tyko Saarikko	Vocals
Tracks	9	Janina Lehto	Guitar
Runningtime	52 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Prophecy Productions	Ilmari Issakainen	Bass
Release	20 Oct. 2006	Ilmari Issakainen	Drums
Country	Finland	Ilmari Issakainen	Piano
Similar artists	---

This is the second album from this finnish band that I review this year, the former release Maaäet was released in February and in October it is time for the next release: Airut: aamuien. Actually, this album is a re-release of an album originally released in a small edition in 2004 under the name Harmaa, but after signing to Prophecy they wanted to put it out in the name of Tenhi. Airut: aamuien is the second part of a bigger story that started in 2001 with the Tenhi mini-CD, Airut: ciwi and that is going to have another sequel scheduled for 2008 in Airut: savoie. The Airut saga is based on Tyko Saariko and Ilmaru Issakainens visions and is forged around themes from other Tenhi songs, the first two parts further explore the track Kielo, while the third and upcoming part is based on the song Tuulenkaato.

I can't say that I keep any closer check on this band but since the previous album there are fewer members featured here. And as with another recent release from Prophecy, Neun Welten, this is a soundtrack for the autumn and its coming cold nights of darkness. Airut: aamuien is a minimalist and piano-based album with a dark ambience as it has the same kind of vibe of the other albums I have heard with Tenhi, they tend to stick to their sound. Progressive, experimental and melancholic is words that describes Tenhi, and when they peel of their sound and base the album around the melodies from the piano they comes out stronger as what they did on Maaäet.

I simply don't know what kind of references towards other band or artists you can draw from Tenhi but with the piano and some of the dramatic melodies, I would have to say Tori Amos. If you have ever heard her version of Slayer's Raining Blood you can kind of get a picture of what you are in for here as Airut: aamuien has a similar feeling that lies over the songs. The problem I had with the last album, and that still is present, is the vocals. They just don't match the music the way that I would like it to. The Nick Cave-ish male vocals, in Finnish, make it sound worse than what it could or should do if you ask me. As I see it there are two options here: either change the language, which very well could work. Alternatively, and even better, change the vocalist to one with a lighter and softer voice, preferably someone like Liv Kristine of Leaves Eyes as I wrote in my review of Maaäet.