Having first come across Mikko, Kie and Jonne on stage at my local festival (Steelhouse) in 2017, I have become a firm fan and seen them three times since the release of their sensational eighth album ‘War is Over’ (we all wish that at the moment, given the events in Ukraine). The band, along with many others, have taken the time to reflect on the events of the past two years and then come up with a musical opus that is going to resonate with many people.
After all that is what music that stands the test of time does, it connects with the audience on a personal level to fix it in long term memory. We all remember buying our first album (‘Ziggy Stardust’), our first kiss, the song on the radio the day our parents died (mine was ‘Living Years’ by Mike and The Mechanics the day my father died). This album is going to do just that. I have only anticipated one other album like this one in the past two years – Florence Black’s ‘Weight Of The World’ – and that didn’t disappoint either. Watching the video for ‘All Of A Sudden, You’re Gone’ with tears streaming down my face, I knew it had connected with me already.
I’m not an environmentalist, and I have done my time caring for humanity as a nurse for the past 40 years, but this (and David Attenborough) make you think about what absolute bastards mankind are. Then you add in the absolute lunacy that is happening in Ukraine at the moment. The lyrics of ‘Day Of Reckoning’ and ‘Blue Forest’ should bring it home to you with an absolute hammer blow. While the vocals appear to have you thinking fairies and dreamscapes, the minor key changes in ‘Blue Forest’ should bring the mood down: then there is the HUGE CRESCENDO that hits at about six minutes that is like a bomb going off in your head – especially if you are listening through headphones. The change back gives you a different mood back to the original feeling and then BANG it does it again, ‘Blue Forest’ is probably my favourite track on the album. It’s a nine-minute prog special with all the vocal and musical nuances of 70s Yes.
‘The Promise’ has a folk/Viking/shanty feel to the rhythm with the violins carrying the bulk of the track, but the changes in vocal style still hold the prog style the band are known for. The vocal harmonies throughout the album continue to remain true to the style the band are known for. However, the different styles also demonstrate a band with a wide variety of musical influences.
‘All Of A Sudden, You’re Gone’ is just stunningly, hauntingly beautiful and will touch the hardest stone hearted son of a bitch and have tears streaming as it has done for me every time I’ve played it and it’s doing it now as I listen and write this. If you’re feeling even a little vulnerable don’t watch the video: it it will have you breaking your heart. Mikko’s vocals are just incredibly unique.
‘Peace Patrol’ is another 10-minute prog special that actually kicks off reminding me of the rhythm of A-Ha’s ‘Lean on Me’ before it appears to rise up into the chorus. Then after the chorus at about four minutes Mikko takes an almost a Capella line “when God made man She knew it would be bad” before there is probably one of the best saxophone solos I have heard since Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Baker Street’ or Hazel O’Connor’s ‘Will You’, but it has a touch of Pink Floyd’s ‘Us And Them’ to it also. Breathtaking track. I so hope they do this live.
Strangely there is a weird techno bop shanty to the ‘Pirates Of The Raseborgian’ but is actually quite catchy, while ‘Anil’ is a ballad opening with a gentle acoustic guitar riff that reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Scarborough Fair’. The harmonies are airy and superbly executed and build towards the middle of the track when additional percussion starts to accompany the vocals to a virtual a Capella verse in a dreamscape that leads to the breakdown. It’s a wonderful track.
‘Elbowed’ goes back to the haunting vocal of Mikko over a what seems to be a glockenspiel before the heavier guitar and drum section comes in. There is also a violin section into a keyboard/guitar combination. Then the chorus is over a heavy guitar/instrumentation section at the breakdown/outro. I like the track a lot.
‘Northern Lights’ opens with some sounds that have actually been recorded from the aurora borealis and a bit of a ‘Close Encounters’ keyboard sound. An ethereal guitar riff joins in before the vocals of Mikko take you on a swirling journey across a night under the aurora on another seven-minute journey through the imagination of the guys. Another brief saxophone solo opens the middle of the track into the first real verse which starts to accelerate towards the breakdown and crescendo. This is another at track, different to the others and yet similar in mood.
Another gentle track opens in ‘Söderskär’, which again reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel, but is about an area of Southern Finland. It’s a lovely track that shows the versatility of the band.
The final track is ‘Disappear There’; opening with what appears to be an accordion piece and an acoustic guitar that reflects the inevitable demise of us all, once again it is one of those tracks that will resonate with those of us who are approaching this part of our lives.
The whole album is one that needs to be played in full, there are no bad tracks or even ones to skip. Put on a pair of headphones in a darkened room and just let the music wash over you, taking its effect on your emotional liability whatever that may be. There is a variety in the whole album that would have anybody who is a fan loving it, and converting a few along the way, just for the versatility of the musicianship and composition. It’s the best album Ive heard so far this year (of original music, anyway, but that’s another review). It is absolutely breath-taking from beginning to end, and I can’t wait to hear the live versions.
If you are wondering why it’s called ‘Red Alert In The Blue Forest’, the Blue Forest is an area in southern Finland that the brothers are trying to restore to a more diverse tree population in an attempt to increase the wildlife there.
- ‘Red Alert In The Blue Forest’ is released on 18 March. You can get your copy HERE.
- Von Hertzen Brothers return to the ÜK in May:
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