A few weeks ago, I was recommended a band called HamaSaari on the blog's Slack, where I get 90% of all of my music recommendations. In the message, they were billed as influenced by Opeth and Steven Wilson but when I checked my email, the promo I had incidentally received the day before cited Caligula's Horse and Karnivool. As you can imagine, I was definitely interested, seeing as these are some of my favorite groups of all time. And let me tell you, the hype was not unjustified; the France based HamaSaari touch on musical ideas and tones from all of the above cited artists, playing a sort of sleek, dark, and explosively emotive modern metal. I've been listening to Ineffable, their upcoming album set to be released on March 3rd, ever since and having a great time.
From that release, "White Pinnacles" is perhaps the best track and so it's a real pleasure for me to premiere it here today, alongside a nifty video of the band playing it themselves. So, what do we have here? Chunky guitar riffs are backed by a rumbling bass tone that almost sounds recorded to my specifications, loud and present. Synths embellish this musical bedrock with an unfurling and epic timbre, calling to mind the role the instrument plays for Opeth in setting a theatrical horizon for the band's sound. Add in powerful vocals from multiple vocalists (actually drawing another namedrop, Earthside), a heavier passage in the middle alongside forceful harsh vocals, and punchily agile drums, and you're all set.
Ineffable, as I mentioned above, releases on March 3rd via Klonosphere and you can preorder it right here. In case the excellent "White Pinnacles" didn't convince you, I can confirm there are many more fantastic musical moments on it and it's set to be one of 2023's best albums in the multiple proggy, heavy, emotional musical spaces I referenced above. Go grab it!