Red Moon Architect – October Decay

Red Moon Architect
October Decay
Label: Noble Demon
Out: April 18^th, 2025
Playing time: 49:21

The Melodic Death Doom Metal band Red Moon Architect was founded in 2011 in Kouvola (Finland) and was initially a solo project by drummer Saku Moilanen. The first album ‘Concealed Silence’ (2012) was probably also recorded by him alone. The line-up was completed in 2013. ‘Fall’ was then recorded with them in 2015. In addition to the drummer, singer Anni Viljanen and bassist Jukka Jauhiainen are still members of the band from the early days. ‘October Decay’ is now the band’s fifth album.

The opener ‘Frozen Tomb’ is almost ten minutes long. The guitars are almost fast for Doom at the beginning. Underneath are epic keyboards. The beguiling voice of Anni Viljanen gives you goose bumps, while the brutal growls of Ville Rutanen go through your bones. The passage with keyboards and clean guitars is almost heart-warming. Again and again, the whole thing is ‘lightened up’ a little with beautiful guitar melodies. With a playing time of ‘just’ six minutes, ‘The Depths’ is the shortest song on the album. And it is slowed down a little more. The drums are only ever used discreetly, but the guitars fry. But there are also very beautiful guitar melodies to be heard here, although only at the very end. The longest song on the album, ‘Decay Of Emotions’, which lasts twelve and a quarter minutes, stomps along at a similarly slow pace. However, there is no lack of melodious melodies here either. The interplay between heaven (elfish female vocals) and hell (abysmally evil growls) is also dominant here. In between, clean guitars are plucked again, followed by a beautiful melodic line. Both ‘In Silence’ and ‘On The Edge Of Sanity’ are played a little faster. Both songs are very epic. The distinctive keyboard tapestries are one of the reasons for this. It gets a little more melodic at the very end. In ‘First Of October’, the introductory keyboard parts and the guitars that follow ensure this. But of course, the gloom also strikes here.

‘October Decay’ is a fine piece of Funeral Doom Metal. This includes the contrast between evil growls and angelic vocals. And the contrast between beautiful melodies and brute force. Only recently I reviewed a similar-sounding doom album by a band now based in Finland (‘From The Shadows’). Finland is a veritable cornucopia of Doom Metal bands. Even though I didn’t know Red Moon Architect before, the Finns have burnt themselves into my ear canals with ‘October Decay’.

Red Moon Architect – First Of October: https://youtu.be/xKaznQPoSYo?si=P6sY6JlXGT3Vskvq

Lineup:

Saku Moilanen – Drums, Keyboards
Jukka Jauhiainen – Bass
Anni Viljanen – Vocals (Female)
Ville Rutanen – Vocals
Taneli Jämsä – Guitars
Pyry Hanski – Guitars

Track list:

• Frozen Tomb
• The Depths
• Decay Of Emotions
• In Silence
• On The Edge Of Sanity
• First Of October