7 May 2016

Edge of Haze: "Mirage"


Heavy rock and light metal in unison
Donning your heavy metal glasses, Finland has long had a tradition of esoteric death, gloomy death, upbeat folk and gothic symphonies of power. Edge of Haze, however, seem completely unwilling to adhere to any dogmas, metal or otherwise. Though their sound is fresh and modern, it is by no means a pandering to trend. On their 2012 album Mirage, the Finns reveal themselves to be a powerful quintet with influences that reach far beyond the realm of metal.


Described in the past as progressive metal, symphonic doom metal and basically everything in between, their style doesn't easily subject itself to pigeonholing categorisation. With every member, as well as a veritable horde of guest musicians and vocalists, joining in on a multitude of instruments and adding their own voices to the mix - literally - Mirage is an album of many guises. Edge of Haze's album debut holds seven tracks at a total of 37 minutes, which seems an adequate amount of time for the collective to fully show the extent of their capabilites while also keeping it coherent and meaningful to the last minute.

"...for most metalheads Edge of Haze is probably too lightheaded, and to many rockfreaks it might be a bit on the heavy side."

With the amount of different inputs and currents present on Mirage, things could easily tend to get cluttered and confused - but this never happens. Even if the album is a sort of acquired taste, every element feels like it has its own space to fill. But even so, for most metalheads Edge of Haze is probably too lightheaded, and to many rockfreaks it might be a bit on the heavy side. It can definitely be hard to get properly into their strange mix of progressive song structures, powerful metal riffs and gloomy, gothic atmosphere.

But from rock and metal the Finnish quintet have carved their own niche of something mostly unique. There are times where Mirage sounds like it belongs on the radio, and in other instances like it should be on the stereo in a seedy nightclub. It is an album of flaring differences, but finds unity therein. Edge of Haze is no doubt a band with high ambitions, and their material is well written and well produced. Not once do they reach a stalemate, and the final product is actually rather memorable.

7/10


Released in 2012 independently

Links
Edge of Haze on FACEBOOK

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