Synopsis:

Yet another excellent Finnish band vying for Amorphis’s throne....

Reviews:

Last year, Noumena’s Absence crept onto my year end list, and while most are rightly lauding Insomnium’s Above the Weeping World, Noumena’s fantastic third album is also worthy of the same level of praise.

Culling tangibly from the likes of Rapture, Insomnium, Amorphis, Slumber, Swallow the Sun et al, Noumena’s sound is paced, introspective and morose, yet crunchy, melodic and uplifting with a sprinkling of guest female and male vocals (Fall of the Leafe’s Tuomas Tuominen once again lends his unique tone to “Retrospection”).

The now standard thick Finnish guitar tone (courtesy of Sundicoop) and layered approach is perfected giving each deliberate riff and melody a lush warm feel and Antti Haapanen has the all too familiar deep Finnish roar, but it all comes together around superb and varied songs. From the robust canter of tracks like “Misanthropolis”, “Retrospection”, “The Burning” and “Triumph of Loss” to the more somber hues of “Burden of Solacement” and “Monument of Pain”, through the delicate closing ballads “Through the Element” and “Fire and Water”, Anatomy of Life is an enthralling and captivating full of Rapture-esque pacing, layering and simple yet effective harmonies that draw you in and stick with you when the album is over 

There are more revered Finnish bands out there right now, but with Anatomy of Life, Noumena should now be genuinely in that elite group and if you enjoy any of the bands above, this is pretty much a no brainer.