While retaining the basic components of their sound -- thrash mixed with melodic death metal and occasional tinges of black metal and distinguished by some of the most beautiful yet grimmest melodies in all of melancholia -- Purgatory of the Second Sun manifests Pain Confessor's progressive streak more pronouncedly and represents an even greater step forward from the band's previous release, Fearrage (2006), than was the case between that album and their first, Turmoil (2004). Not only does it continue the evolution towards greater complexity and layering, but it also possesses unprecedented focus and introduces refreshing departures -- some subtle, some dramatic.

One major improvement and key to several others is that the sound for this album (the first of theirs to be recorded and mixed at Fantom Studios) is easily the best they've ever achieved. Whereas their past releases can be a little too dense at times, here there is much greater separation of the instruments, and percussion is the chief beneficiary. Without violating the band's admirable if a bit excessively applied no-showboating philosophy, giving Mikko Laihanen's drums some much-needed clarity puts his talent on full display, and not just when he's featured, like in the fabulous opening of "Last of Forever," where bassist Mikko Kivistö also shines. More importantly, the songs benefit from the extra dimensions he gives them. Though used discreetly as always, keyboards also come through more clearly, which, along with Pasi Laihanen's increasingly creative playing, makes them much more effective in complementing the other instruments, cuing movements within songs, and contributing to the grim atmosphere and cinematic feel.

While Kuusinen and Vesa "Wesleyer" Säkkinen's guitars have never suffered from as much underexposure, they too are enhanced on Purgatory of the Second Sun. Its meaty mid-range riffs are a nice change from Fearrage's, and especially Turmoil's, more trebly, thinner ones. These heavy, chunky guitars alone give this album a different sound. Solos are placed only where needed, as usual, but more fully developed; some on past albums don't really go anywhere, a notable exception being the masterful one in "Fall on Evil Days."

The only instrument still not being fully utilized is the voice of Markku "Make" Kivistö. By keeping the vocals too submerged in the mix and by Kivistö's over-reliance on his least powerful and distinctive mode, the screech, Pain Confessor have yet to make an album that takes adequate advantage of this guy's extraordinary talent and variety. He has a rich growl, a big, booming clean voice, and a whole lot in between. I'd love, for example, to hear more of the hybrid style (deep, throaty but not a growl) used in the verses of "Ne Plus Ultra" and "Coming Down a Storm" or the low, raspy voice that makes an electrifying appearance in an interlude during "Mercenaries." Why he favors a flimsier weapon whose best use is as an occasional background element and why he, along with Pain Confessor's numerous guests, among them Rainer Nygård of Diablo (on Turmoil and Fearrage) and on the new album Swallow the Sun's Mikko Kotamäki, is being muted are complete mysteries.

It's no coincidence that Pain Confessor's most memorable songs have typically been vocally and stylistically diverse. Otherwise, only the choruses and more adventurous interludes resonate, not the aggressive but often nondescript, screech-dominated verses or the composition as a whole, a problem that plagues Fearrage moreso than Turmoil. But with the improvements in sound and more consistently solid songwriting, on Purgatory of the Second Sun the less varied tracks are stronger than those on previous albums. Perfectly set up by the apocalyptic "Planetkiller," a well crafted, ominous instrumental no one could dismiss as merely "obligatory," the thrash romp "Without Redemption, Without Remorse" surpasses "Ruin," its blast-out-of-the-gates counterpart on Fearrage, due to clearly delineated atmospheric keys and drums, the latter propelling tumultuous rhythms that are far more interesting than those of "Ruin." Whereas the mad pace and vocal of "Ruin" are at odds with its poetic, introspective lyrics, which are essentially thrown away, a more complementary relationship exists in "Without Redemption, Without Remorse."

Only after several listens, however, did the nuances of that song and a few of the others on Purgatory of the Second Sun emerge, and even now it feels as though the album doesn't really shift into high gear until "Mercenaries," a varied track with excellent guitar melodies, grooving verses with a heavily pulsating bass and rippling drums, wide-ranging vocals, a chorus that epitomizes gallows catchiness, the aforementioned killer interlude and another with a superb guitar solo. After the equally compelling "Ne Plus Ultra" and nearly so "The Harvest," the album becomes uneven but resurges dramatically with "Coming Down a Storm." These four songs represent Pain Confessor at their best: complex, predominantly mid- to slow-paced, showing the band's many different sides and doing more than just "thrash[ing] the listener into hell and back once and again," to quote the band's current bio/release info. Their lesser material is superior to the best many other bands of this ilk produce, but when they bring all of their gifts together and create multidimensional expressions of rage and despair, they rule this doomed planet.

written by Maud

Playing time: 43:47