Tenhi - Maaäet
Prophecy
Neofolk
12 songs (52:21)
Release year: 2006
Tenhi, Prophecy
Reviewed by Jaime
Archive review
When it comes to being miserable through the medium of music the Finns rank pretty highly. Whether you want to be at the top of a league of grim, forlorn bastards remains to seen but it doesn't excuse the fact that some of they manage to convey a huge amount of feeling through their songs. Which leads me to Tenhi. They're hardly a metal band but are still relevant due to their label mates and the vast number of metal bands that borrow elements from their ponderous neo-folk whims, the likes of Alcest and Silent Stream of Godless Elegy who have more that a few similarities with Tenhi if you scratch the surface.

A lone, quite soft sounding drum part leads into Varpuspäivä | Sparrow day, (the band offer up English titles of the songs that may not be actual translations) with reverb drenched guitars and piano following soon after. The only real word to describe it, and the band as a whole would be melancholic. There's an innate sadness to the proceedings that's only accented with the slow pacing, the violin accenting the piano melody and low, somewhat world weary vocals that sound like an old man reminiscing about his past. The utterly gorgeous guitar and piano sound only add to the affair, with the former's slightly warm tone and the latter's cavernous, slightly detuned ring. Kuoppa | Depth is the first showing of the band's use of vocal harmonies to wonderous effect. The string sections are brought to the fore here and the drone of the harmonium gives it that somewhat off kilter feel, especially when it's the only accompaniment to the vocals. Third song Kuulut Kesiin | July's Wreath has the band using only acoustic guitars instead and is a bit of a contrast to the two before it. It sounds warmer, slightly more upbeat even with those vocals and very Summery which one presumes they were going for with the song title. Salain | Shapeless reintroduces the piano and the whole band feel. There's some interesting use of harmonics and the pizzicato strings dotted throughout the song that but it didn't grab me as much as the previous tracks. The near plainchant style vocals add an extra layer of interest to it, but it just failed to draw me in. Viimeiseen | Through Bloom-blades slows things down and draws each note out in that morose way that the band does. A different vocalist, who's slightly higher pitched and airy works well as a contrast to the earthier tones of the other singer as the swap vocal lines throughout the song. The harmonium pops up again too, although it's used for more than drones, providing some of the melody in the verses. The chorus sections (if you want to call them that) sound massive compared to how stark the rest of the song it.

Vähäinen violetissa | Lithe in Lilac is back to the same sort of arrangement that Varpuspäivä | Sparrow day uses, it feels like a whole band playing instead of a few guys round a campfire or in a log cabin somewhere in the woods. Not to detract from any of the other songs. The piano drives the way forward here as the song seems to rise up when it shows face and the airy vocalist is given his chance to go it alone. There's some nice use of that plainchant style again in the background of the choruses, and the little piano solo (kinda...) section is a nice change and works well within the song. The piano forms the main body of Sarastuskävijä | Frail as well, with it going off on its own for the first two minutes before the vocals and chants enter and bring dischords with them. Compared to the mostly laid back nature of the rest it's a fairly unexpected change, but very effective and very unnerving. The piano resurfaces with the violins harmonising over the top and the chants being used for swells. There are little guitar noises hidden away as well that you may be able to sliding in and out. One of the shortest tracks on the album, Maa syttyy | Orphan Joy is vocal led for the most part which doesn't give it the same room to grow or breathe as the rest do, but it manages to get there just fine. Tuulenkaato | Falter is very lonely sounding for lack of a better word. The barebones verses of vocals and a very basic guitar line lead into the choruses and their harmonised vocals and the full band again. The band know how to write vocals harmonies for sure as they always sound spot on. Another short track is found in Aatos | Reverie, which isn't as complex as Maa syttyy | Orphan Joy and is probably better for it. Things take another twist with Uuvu oravan luu | Ease Squirrel Bone with the bass and flute coming through more. This is another one of those slightly offbeat tracks, almost tribalistic when the vocals and percussion hit. There's a lot more obvious things going on musically that add to that shamanesque feel as well with the rhythm and the instrumentation, like the bass line and the flute that flutters in and out of the track. Finally there's Rannalta haettu | From the Shore, the start of which kind of reminded me of a blues song due to the vocals and it doesn't shift when the track kicks off properly. It goes against the grain of the majority of the album, like Uuvu oravan luu | Ease Squirrel Bone, but to completely different effect. It sounds more like an Irish folk song that the melancholy of the rest. I suppose they just couldn't stay grim for the whole album and as an uplifting outro it does well but the repetition doesn't work so well here with a faster track.

The production on Maaäet is fantastic and showcases the band's music in a very natural, almost intimate manner. From start to finish there isn't weak song, although some may not be as good as others, and it demands being listened to as a whole as an experience instead of merely picking and choosing choice cuts. It's something that wants you have to sit down with headphones on and no other distractions nearby to fully focus on what it's doing. It's difficult to pick out faults in it beyond the fact that some people might just not be interested, which personally I find would be their loss.
Killing Songs :
As mentioned, it's best listened to as a whole.
Jaime quoted 90 / 100
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