By naming their band Hope Is A Lie, there’s no disguising the fact that this Finnish trio veer towards the darker side of the musical spectrum. That said, this self-titled debut isn’t your run of the mill doom fest. Its best material takes a world of heavy riffs and works them in a slow, but prog-infused manner, creating a more cerebral brand of post metal. The core sound is less Sabbath and Sleep, and more in keeping with a slower and heavier Haven, without the scratchy vocals and with an obviously Scandinavian flair.
The album’s seven tracks favour the epic: most selections clock in around the seven minute mark, which gives the band plenty of opportunity to stretch out, but unlike some prog metal bands, they’ve not become so indulgent that it risks listener fatigue setting in. ‘Suits’, an immediate standout track, actually opens in a most unexpected way when a heavy keyboard riff, a chugging guitar and an almost industrial sounding drum loop are used in a way which revisits the sounds of 90s darkwave, whilst a second guitar is used to create sonic arcs from layers of feedback. Eventually, with the help of muted guitar chords, an even bigger melody arises, adding more of a groove to a sound that suggests something even harder will emerge. And sure enough, cranking the volume, the muted guitars soon grow into a full blown post metal chugger; their colder aspects playing safely for the genre, whilst the melody offers a little more of a groove than most “post-” bands might consider. With the help of a screechy black metal vocal, the number soon explodes into a world of furiosity, where the repetitive riffs pull influence from the heavier moments of the Isis catalogue, all the while showing Hope Is A Lie to be capable of a sharper and more contemporary sound at the time of recording.
Venturing further into the atmospheric, ‘Shadow’ opens with a fantastic spoken word passage which lends more of a proggy/concept angle to this work, before delivering another absolutely fantastic mid tempo riff. Here, the denser elements pull influence from a classic doom sound, but the misery is offset by a lead guitar dropping shoegaze and prog metal sounds into the mix. The crying melodies from that second guitar are cold, massively haunting, and yet they show off a broad, almost cinematic sense of melody. When the two aspects come together and begin to really work the heavy melody, Hope Is A Lie capture a sound that could easily stand alongside the very best post metal, even with an abrasive melodic death metal vocal doing its best to alienate those who’d prefer something a little more accessible. Nevertheless, the instrumental moments that fill the latter part of the track are utterly superb, with Markus Alavire and Lasse Girs (both also handling vocals, bass and keys throughout the LP) settling into a surprisingly old school twin lead break. With a blend of post rock, prog metal and black metal, this presents one of the album’s most satisfying arrangements.
Adding bigger melodies to the band’s musical palette, ‘End of Days’ teases with an opening riff that sounds like something from The Smashing Pumpkins circa ‘Machina’, before drifting into a world of doom tinged post metal, where a sledgehammer of a riff drives a dense sounding chorus into the ears of the unsuspecting audience. The quieter riff returns to act as an effective bridge between the tune’s harder moments, but is often outshone by the levels of fuzz applied elsewhere. By the time the chorus arrives a second time, it becomes much easier to pick out a huge melody, even with two very different (but equally angry) voices smothering any easy melodies, but following that, things take a huge twist. An extended middle eight introduces clean guitar work, teasing with an almost jazz-rock flair, whilst keeping an ear on a proggy post rock tone, before a huge goth-doom riff allows Alvire and Girs plenty to space to work a pleasingly dense groove alongside Tuomo Heiti’s equally heavy drum sound. Although having a lot of character of its own, there are moments here that skirt around the more arty influences from bands like Alcest. For those who’ve found an instant love for the quieter moments here, the gothic strains of ‘Dance’ – again, revisiting the clean, almost jazzy guitar tones – will appeal, since it’s core works a moody sound that fuses the mellow elements of Isis with the proggy aspects of bands like 1099, before taking a heavier turn. It’s likely due to the moments of relative quiet preceding it, but the riff that emerges is one of Hope Is A Lie’s most crushing – taking sludge metal tones and applying them to a doomy post metal arrangement certainly results in something that creates a huge musical shift. The addition of weird vocals that sound like someone impersonating Jonathan Davis also creates a strange diversion from the band’s norm, but all things considered, it works. In some ways, this track would’ve been an ideal palate cleanser with its extra concession to proggier aspects, but the fact that this band are clearly not overthinking what might work best for the average listener but merely following their muse is something that should be applauded.
Elsewhere, both ‘Into The Flames’ and ‘Pure’ tease with more gothic aspects; the former by taking a clean toned guitar to work a terrifically haunting melody behind weird dual vocals, and the latter employing a minimalist piano motif. When the heavier moments arrive for both, in some ways, Hope Is A Lie take a business like approach to their craft, but if you’ve found a love for the other tunes, their blend of heaviness and all round dark, dense moods will continue to impress. On ‘Into The Flames’, in particular, there is a little more experimentation with throaty black metal vocals, but the heart of the number fits well with the rest of the disc, whilst ‘Pure’ veers towards a more traditional heaviness, which makes a great base for a dual vocal that occasionally sounds like the ghosts of a ‘Dog’ era Alice In Chains number, before giving way to a defiant hardcore growl. In some ways, most of the band’s best traits can be found wedged into these seven minutes, and with a wonky, almost bluesy lead guitar breaking up the density, a couple of listens will unveil something that’s more melodic than first impressions suggest. Melody, of course, is a relative concept here, but in terms of capturing a sludge/goth/post metal hybrid, this is perfect – especially once a huge chug underscores a world of sampled voices adding more of a prog metal slant to an already complex track.
Bringing this strong record to a close, the eight minute ‘Rot’ actually offers one of the strongest – and most atmospheric – numbers, taking Hope Is A Lie into a very dark place. On an extended intro, a cold guitar repeats the same eight notes on a loop; clean toned, and yet still unsettling, whilst a fuzzed out backdrop contrasts the melody with a huge drone, taking the band’s post metal further towards a more marginal blackgaze sound. A spoken word vocal puts in some massively hard yards to increase the tension; the mumbled sound cracks on occasion, and is presented as if reading the prologue for a horror movie. The musical sequence goes on for so long that the darkness almost becomes hypnotic, but at the point the band feels everyone is suitably lulled, they provide a massive jolt with the aid of a massive sludge/doom riff that showcases the Hope Is A Lie sound at its absolute heaviest. In keeping with the rest of the material, however, the purer doom aspects are layered with an extra guitar, where a circular riff brings an extra coldness. With the aid of a dense sound and pseudo-death metal vocal, the heavier aspects number dispenses with most of the band’s more melodic traits, and instead, presents more of an Alcest inspired intensity. After giving that time to take root, the band inject a couple of passages of pure goth, but without losing the brilliant post metal coldness, and by the time a howling lead guitar is introduced to build up a sludgy coda, there’s a feeling that most of the Hope Is A Lie musical interests have been explored here.
On this debut, Hope Is A Lie cover a lot of ground. Elements of doom and sludge collide with prog; light gothic touches colour an already dark sound, and a huge wave of post metal heaviness links everything with aplomb. The material often values riffs over everything else, and doesn’t always make a concession for obvious lyrical hooks, but everything works together brilliantly. In a world where there are several hundred great post-rock/metal bands vying for your attention, these lads still have a chance of standing out. Almost everything on this debut disc is perfectly pitched, and for lovers of an arty heaviness, it’ll definitely be the kind of album that will reveal its magic over time.
December 2024