It may seem like the classic discovery of hot water, but it is always useful to point out how much the status acquired by a label derives essentially from the ratio between the quality and quantity of its releases. There are, indeed, those who bet everything or almost everything on the second aspect, thus running the risk of losing credibility and indirectly invalidating even excellent releases; this is certainly not the case for Prophecy Productions (and its affiliates Lupus Lounge and Auerbach), which, in a relatively short period of time such as the last two years, has given out a number of masterpieces (Dordeduh, Vali, Falkenbach), a large number of great albums (including Alcest, Antimatter, The Vision Bleak, Secrets Of The Moon, Empyrium) and a number of further releases under the banner of stylistic diversification, ranging from black metal to neo folk. All this panegyric towards the German label serves to introduce another little gem just released under that label, namely the second full length by Canadians Finnr’s Cane, A Portrait Painted By The Sun. The North American trio offers a fascinating mix of black, post-metal sounds, as well as a dash of folk and ambient that, wanting to exemplify it to the fullest, goes to shores rather contiguous to Agalloch, although compared to John Haughm’s phenomenal band the black component appears decidedly more nuanced. The opening track This Old Oak constitutes a perfect manifesto of Finnr’s Cane‘s songwriting, with its acoustic incipit that gradually hardens until it reaches its climax in its finale, when a mournful guitar melody makes its way through the gloomy substrate created by the other instruments, leading the listener to an enchanting yet unexpected closure. The record lives, for its forty minutes, on entirely similar sensations, with songs that often start out softly and then swell like a cloud before the storm, reaching pathos in the concluding section; the three musicians untangle themselves with great sensitivity among sounds that are certainly not usable on first listening. A Portrait Painted By The Sun is, in fact, a work destined to grow exponentially with each pass through the player, and the magic of splendid tracks such as the aforementioned opener, Time Is A Face In The Sky and Tao will repay with interest for the effort put into being able to ideally immerse oneself in the dark forests of Ontario. For those who appreciate Alcest, Agalloch and Wolves In The Throne Room.

2013 – Prophecy Productions