The arrival of new music from Tuomas Saukkonen is always something that gets the saliva running a little freer, so I was all in when Sentinel Daily editor Scott Adams offered me the chance of a go on the new album from Dawn of Solace, the project which allows Saukkonen to exorcise his melancholia in very public form… Once I’d remove the excess spittle from my chin, obviously.

With this knowledge that this is very much the outlet for Tuomas’ ‘sensitive’ side you have to make a few allowances; this isn’t a place for full-bore extremity, so even on the few occasions during the album when you sense a good old blast of Northern death metal might be the solution, it never comes (aside from the odd bit of growling), and whilst that left this listener wanting things a bit rougher around the edges, I also acknowledge that, for most people, that isn’t why Dawn of Solace is so successful.

That is, however, quite literally the only source of disgruntlement I can pinpoint because in every other respect Affliction Vortex carries on the good work of it’s predecessor, 2022’s Flames of Perdition. Tracks like Murder, Fortress, Dream and Invitation are all up there as fine examples of melancholic, melodic doom/death, with Saukkonen in fine form, augmented by some tasteful guitar work from Jukka Salovaara and backdropped by the impressive keys contributions of Saku Moilanen.

Cloaked in an impressive production, the songs on Affliction Vortex are never allowed to become over indulgent, with only closer Mother Earth topping the six minute mark; This gives a surprisingly immediate feel to the album, as songs deliver with a pleasing urgency but are still multi-layered enough to demand repeated listening before they reveal all their secrets. I’m not kidding – these tracks are dense in construction despite their relative brevity, and are a testament to the songwriting and arrangement skills involved.

Another success for TS, then, and Affliction Vortex is certainly an album I look forward to spending a lot of time with in the near future.



Affliction Vortex releases on February 14th.