Fall season. There is a chill in the air, bare trees, rain in the forecast. Perfect time for another Yearning album. As if anticipating this release I have recently reviewed their debut With Tragedies Adorned (albeit under some sad personal circumstances). This time around Finnish masters of sadness present eight tracks on the downhearted platter called Evershade.

On Evershade, the band’s fourth full-length release, the band is still two men strong, the mastermind/composer/vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Yuhani Palomaki and his devoted drummer Toni who had gone from being called perfectly Finnish Toni Kostiainen on the debut to Toni K. Christian on Frore Meadow to Kris Tonic on Evershade.

A brief opener Nocturne harkens back to With Tragedies Adorned with its pain filled, tuneful, funeral inspired melody, rolling drums and low scraping “bottom of the barrel” vocals. Slightly over 2 min of Nocturne is pretty much all we are going to get of the “old” melodic doom Yearning. Shades of it also appear on the epic closer A Day When the World Started to Weep, but the rest of the album is the refinement of the dark tinged gothic metal of Plaintive Scenes and Frore Meadow. Statues Amidst a Frozen Sand of Time is a perfect example of what Yearning is today. Heavy riffs, clean, and as usually slightly off, vocals, and what seems like a non-stop soloing guitar weaving its way all around the song. Real drumming helps Yearning quite a bit. Kris Tonic alternatively throws in powerful double bass, numerous fills and slightly progressive rhythms (title track). Programmed puny beats would distract, so Yuhani would be well advised to hold onto Kris’ services. Statues Amidst a Frozen Sand of Time compares favorably to the similar tracks Bleak and Naivete from Frore Meadow and Plaintive Scenes, respectively. In fact, Evershade has all its eight songs complete. There are no shorter, half baked, experimental tracks that both previous albums featured. It is true, however, that many songs on Evershade are similar. Some songs, like Aureole, are more acoustic and lean on the guitar more. Others, like Contemplation, bring keyboards more towards the front. The latter on Contemplation go from the sounds of angelic choir to Irish flute to the apocalyptic ending. All the while Yuhani does not forget to intertwine his penchant for sad melodies into just about every song. Most of them follow classic progression of the minor scale chords, but Deathbearer breaks the mold and goes against the canon established by Bach’s sad fugues. 11 minute suite A Day When the World Started to Weep has everything from harp sounds to slow funeral processions to vocals emanating from the inside of the coffin.

I know I am very impartial to Yuhani Palomaki and his art. Yearning’s music brings me almost physical pleasure, so I enjoy every minute of it, and the album just flies by, only to be put on the repeat. Besides Yuhani’s classical music upbringing I share his sense of sweet romantic melancholy, the sense that permeates Yearning’s every note. Being so in tune with this artist I am giving him a very high grade for a vibe he, unknowingly, shares with me. Thus, I have to warn you that the quote below is very subjective and probably will be scrutinized.