Aaltonen and Antti Toiviainen's guitars are less dirty and fuzzy than is typical of grunge and stonerrock, while the riffs are more complicated, the vocals layered more beautifully, the melodies more lovely and (as billed) sad, and the lyrics possessed of greater substance. Refining the art of soft/loud dynamics, Monsteriser achieve a rich spread and an energizing flow through expert playing, effective pacing, and flawless sound. The album was produced, engineered and mixed by Aaltonen, whose wizardry can also be heard on Stam1na's Uudet Kymmenen Käskyä and self-titled debut and on Mokoma's most recent album, Kuoleman Laulukunnaat, and ep, Viides Vuodenaika. Much of Monsteriser's fluidity and multi-dimensionality of sound are derived from Tommi Suonpää's bass, which drives the songs and combines with Janne Hynynen's drumming for a big, beefy low-end that ripples and pulses. In addition to this propulsion within each song, perfect sequencing and brilliant pauseless segues between most of the tracks allow The Long Snap to Zero to suck you in and sweep you along. Diversity in riffs, melodies, interludes, and song structures ensure that the shifts from heavy to lighter and more melodic passages do not become predictable and that there are surprises, like the vocal effects in "Nails and Daggers," the metalically jangly verses of "Keep It," or Miitri's brief plunge into atypically deep singing (something I wish he'd do more often, as he excels in that range) in an interlude during "Stillborn." Nothing constituting a jolt, however, pleasurable or otherwise, disrupts the stream of strong riffage, groove, and melody.

Then you hit "Walk All Over" and everything changes. A culmination of all that comes before yet sounding not quite like any of the previous tracks, this worth-the-price-of-the-entire-CD gem has an emotional impact found nowhere else on this album (or, for that matter, on many others, period). The overall message of The Long Snap to Zero could be summed up as "life is treacherous," and that theme finds its most eloquent expression in this song's lyrics. Reading like a cross between Tool's "Stinkfist" and poet Emily Dickinson at her finest, these pessimistic, humorous, masochistic, and incredibly moving words are powerfully reinforced by the heavy guitars and poignant main melody's dynamic interplay, by Aaltonen's delivery, and by the song's unconventional structure. The Long Snap to Zero could use more tracks like this one. So unsettling and deeply affecting is "Walk All Over" that it makes me wish the rest of the songs could shake me up more. However, if the worst one can say about an album is that it's too pleasant, then that's a strong album indeed. Monsteriser have crafted a very mature debut, which is not surprising, given their "advanced years" and extensive experience (detailed in a diagram longer than one required for some dynasties). What they're doing may not be radically new, but it's never before been done with more depth, technical expertise, and seductiveness.

written by Maud

Playing time: 38.31