To hear where Pääkkönen's strengths lie and also the styles at which Excalion excels, all one has to do is listen to the opening track. Vocals in the verses of "Temporary Wasteland" are very convincing displays of power and attitude, while those in the higher-pitched choruses sound somewhat squawky. Jarmo's deep and tough side suits the song's hard-driving music perfectly, but also blends well with the more progressive/symphonic elements, heard in the atmospheric opening and in the instrumental interludes. There, guitar and keyboard leads gracefully chase each other all over the place, amidst all-instrument pounding.

The heaviest tracks on Primal Exhale tend to be the strongest, not just because of their aggression, but because they also happen to possess some of the most interesting progressive parts. In "Reality Bends," my personal favorite on the album, intense verses are trumped by a chorus in which an already fast pace is accelerated, while the instrumental sections go through many variations in tempo, style, and forcefulness. "Megalomania" is another revved up track ,with an especially gritty vocal, particularly in the verses, and cool interludes, the most striking of which is head-bangingly militant. A slowed-down, majestic chorus nicely contrasts with the almost demented verses. One of Excalion's most noteworthy traits is the ability to write choruses that are contextually perfect: sounding exactly right or striking in relation to their musical surroundings and deriving part of their strength from this. In "Obsession to Prosper," for example, the chorus acts as a very adroit melodic extension of the notes preceding it. This is also one of the album's more hard-edged tracks, largely because of Jarmo's extra-deep, tough vocal.

Less heavy but still catchy, "A Moment in the Spotlight" is one to which many listeners will respond well. It screams "hit single," but its obvious theme is rather tired. A less overt title might help. There are, however, a few lyrical twists that make this treatment of a familiar topic more interesting than most. The achievement of commercial success is presented as purely accidental, caused by the unintentional creation of a hit song, and is expressed with an unusually acute degree of remorse, bitterness and melancholy ("I should have let that note-sheet burn."), the focus on feeling trapped by fame, citing none of its glories. And it's easy to appreciate the irony of a song bewailing the consequences of writing a hit being the most blatant hit on the album. I'm actually less bothered by the lyrical cliches than the musical ones: the a cappella titular first line, drawing extra attention to itself by being sung as an outburst, and the last line, again titular, which is delivered with a dramatic pause before an even more theatrical vocal explosion of the last word.

On an album on which no two songs truly sound alike, "Dire Waters" stands out as particularly unique, especially in a rhythmic sense. Possibly the most progresssive sailor song ever recorded, it features some of Primal Exhale's coolest and most lilting keyboards sounds, balanced by the punch of synchronous drums and percussive guitars. Also anomalous, "Luopio" is a Finnish-language version of "Forlorn," a song on Excalion's first demo of the same name. I hope they'll do more songs in their native tongue in the future, and also more driving rockers like this one.

Commendably diverse but also cohesive, Primal Exhale escapes one of the main pitfalls of first albums: a jarring stylistic disparateness. This is not surprising, perhaps, since the band began recording in earnest only a few years ago. Excalion also avoids another tendency in debut efforts: derivativenes. But the album's genre-crossing nature might limit its appeal for some listeners. Although the majority of metal fans should be pleased by how well-played this music is, Primal Exhale is most likely to find favor with people who appreciate symphonic and progressive elements and tolerate (but have no major affininity for) power metal. Those who thrive on high-pitched vocals might be critical of Jarmo Pääkkönen's limitations in this area. But to me the quality of his predominantly lower and rougher mode compensates for this, and I also enjoy the idiosyncratic jaw-twisting intensity in his voice. In future recordings, I hope he and the band as a whole will gravitate further towards heavy rock/metal and continue to experiment with the symphonic and progressive stylings that add important dimensions to their sound.

written by Maud

Playing time: 54.25