The Curse of the Red River, the 2010 debut album from Finland’s Barren Earth, made quite the splash. That didn’t come as a huge shock, given that the band’s line-up is a collection of veterans of the Finnish metal wars, including vocalist Mikko Kotamäki (Swallow the Sun), Olli-Pekka Laine on bass (Ex-Amorphis, Mannhai), drummer Marko Tarvonen (Moonsorrow) , and Kreator guitarist Sami Ylisirniö.
On March 13, Peaceville Records will release the band’s second album, The Devil’s Resolve, in North America. It was mixed by Dan Swanö (Opeth/Katatonia) at Unisound in Sweden, it features cover art by Paul Romano (whose work graces the covers of albums by Mastodon and a jillion other metal bands), and it includes guest vocals by Mathias Lillmåns (Finntroll) and . . . bagpipes! (courtesy of Jaakko Lemmetty from Korpiklaani). (Nice timing, given our piece on bagpipe metal earlier today.)
So far so good — but there’s more. According to a press release, the music on the new album will cross through a variety of musical landscapes, ranging from brutal death metal to progressive and acoustic passages and sweeping melodies. You can get a taste of this via a montage of the album’s songs that Peaceville is now streaming on SoundCloud (and that we’re streaming right after the jump). And in exchange for your e-mail address, you can get a free download of a track from the album called “The Rains Begin”. Continue reading »