Besra - Transitions

Angry Metal Guy

Written By: Nameless N00b_84

Tension and release. This relationship is a core tenet of musical composition (and most other art forms for that matter), and in the wide world of metal few genres rely on it as heavily as those with “post” attached to them. The swell and crash that is so endemic to the style requires precise attention to detail to succeed. One can dwell too long in the simmering buildup and risk losing the listener’s attention, or approach the climax too quickly and cheapen the crushing effect of the arrival. The middle road reveals a maxim of post-metal; simple form yielding complex expression. Finland’s Besra aim to thread this needle with their second full-length, Transitions. Helmed by Johannes Nygård (ex-Callisto) and boasting production by Cult of Luna’s Magnus Lindberg, this Scandinavian sextet set out to pull the listener into the wind-swept tundra of sound and fury to see what transformations await.

Besra take from different corners of the post/prog-metal world to create their signature sound. Hannes Hietarinta’s harsh bellows are weighty and all-encompassing, not surprisingly reminiscent of Johannes from Cult of Luna. The rhythm section is tight and sits comfortably in odd time grooves à la Isis or even Tool, with Pekko Seppälä’s rumbling yet nimble bass taking center stage on more than one occasion (“Sanguine,” “Landscapes”). Piano and atmospherics provided by Mika Mäkilaakso eerily drift in and out of the soundscape, breaking up the din of the guitars and reminding me of Richard Barbieri’s synth work in Porcupine Tree. With an approach to guitars that spans the overwhelming to the whisper-thin (see “Sanguine” for the best example of this) and a warm, evocative mix/master from Lindberg, Besra should have all the pieces in place for a successful record.

When Besra master the facets of their sound and pull them together with tight songwriting, the end result is exceptional. Catchy, singable vocal lines (also Hietarinta) lived rent-free in my head for days (“Sentinels,” “Prison Without Locks”), and the haunting guitar melody at the front of “Sanguine,” with its ever-so-slight modulation halfway through, still gets me on repeat listens. The relentless unison rhythms in “Valor” hit hard, and the layering of the closing crescendos of “Sentinels” and “Prison Without Locks” are perfect payoffs for the tension built. Yet it’s album opener “Sentinels” that shines the brightest, and it’s a pity that it starts the album because Transitions never really regains its lofty heights. Eschewing an atmospheric opening and bursting forth with a chuggy odd-time riff, “Sentinels” carefully adds layer after layer of melody and texture onto relatively few riffs over its 7-minute runtime. This economical use of musical material, a small pool of ideas extrapolated and mutated to fill the length of a song, is a formula, when employed, that consistently hits the mark for Besra (“Prison Without Locks,” “Valor”). Contrary to Mssr. Malmsteen’s epitaph, less really is more.

It’s the specter of aimlessness which looms large over the “post” genres, that Transitions finds itself battling with the most. At almost 50 minutes of runtime split between six tracks, bloat is an ever-present danger. After the tightly crafted “Sentinels,” second track “Sanguine” adds another minute and a half without much more musical material, resulting in a longer repetition of riffs and risking the loss of attention. “Landscapes” veers further into jam/psychedelic territory with extended Pink Floyd-inflected grooves but lacks the immediacy of the riffs that preceded it. Yet it’s closer “Cries and Lamentations” that really feels out of place amongst Transitions more compact tracks, spending much of its 10 minutes meandering through different instrumental ideas without any concrete arrival point and finishing with a full two minutes of atmospheric outro. Post-metal is no stranger to long song lengths, but when Besra neglect the careful editing that’s so apparent elsewhere in the record, some songs come off more as jam sessions than fleshed-out compositions.

The longer I listened to Transitions the more I concur with the album’s title. The band mentioned in their promo notes that one track on the album is over five years old and one was developed just before hitting the studio, and after many repeat listens, I think that’s apparent in the final product. Besra is a band full of talented musicians who can craft compelling and catchy tunes, but a cohesive collection of songs eludes them in Transitions. If they continue to hone their sound to find that perfect balance of tension and release and reign in the jammier of their instincts, they may yet find that middle path to a great post-metal record.



Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Suicide Records
Websites: besra.band | facebook.com/besraband | Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: September 29, 2023

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