Style: post-rock, post-metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Empyrium, Sólstafir, Agalloch, Alcest
Country: Russia (originated), Finland (current)
Release date: 7 November 2025

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“Beautiful” isn’t the first adjective you’d expect to read in a music blog that covers the progressive and the extreme. It’s a word we tend to use in a limited sense around here. The music we review has plenty of beauty, but it’s typically found in moments, shining through contrast—wistful guitars following a passage of blast beats and shrieks, heartfelt synth melodies responding to pained growls, soaring melodic vocals atop a turbulent rhythmic undercurrent. Rarely is beauty unadulterated, offered not in moments or aspects but with a work’s entire being. 

Setting itself apart, Kauan’s latest release, Wayhome, is incessantly gorgeous. Throughout fifty minutes, this through-track album has neither a moment nor an element that doesn’t radiate sonically and emotionally. Kauan have become renowned for their distinctive brand of cinematic post-rock, blending folk, doom, black metal, and ambient influences into a sound that’s both melancholic and nostalgic. And with Wayhome, we see the band’s style as refined and poignant as ever.

Wayhome is a concept album, and a willingness to invest in it really brings the music to life. The record conveys a continuous journey, both in an external and an introspective sense. Hence, each interconnected track (chapter) is sequential and styled as two separate verbs—one associated with moving outward, and the other with looking inward. 

aim / decide
outline / pave
depart / dive
leave / let go
soothe / sear
haste / ascend
embrace / repel
arrive / resolve

Indeed, in the album title itself, Way could be a path toward a physical destination or within oneself, and Home a tangible place or a state of mind. Either way, the journey is symbolized by a piece of fabric: starting as pristine white cloth and becoming stained, burned, stretched, and torn as the album goes on, until the fabric is nearly unrecognizable, transformed by all it has endured. Resonant enough to bring a tear to the eye, right? 

With the concept in mind, “aim / decide” opens the album with a sentimental touch, its soft guitars and stormy ambience imparting a sense of innocence as well as bittersweet uncertainty. From there, the journey unfolds patiently—rich textures change deliberately, and the tempo largely remains at a walking pace. Kauan pull from a grab bag of compelling melodies, masterfully threading them one after another and leaving the listener no time to escape Wayhome’s spellbinding effect. Whether it’s the playful piano driving “leave / let go” or the viola near the song’s close, the emphatic synths of “depart / dive” or the heavily strummed guitars in “haste / ascend,” the melodies invariably make an impact. All the while, a thick, steadily morphing atmosphere dresses the compositions with hopefulness, nostalgia, melancholy, and even flashes of cathartic anger. Each passage links thoughtfully with the next, making Wayhome play seamlessly from its gentle start to its chest-filling final chapter. 

With such heavy instrumental emotion, it’s easy to underplay the percussion and vocals, but both are vital parts of the experience. Drummer Kristian Merilahti shapes the rhythmic flow with finesse, gracefully carrying along the expansive compositions and letting loose only where more force is needed. Beyond the drumming, the album is replete with additional percussive accents—both programmed and organic—that strengthen the feeling of movement essential to the album’s conceptual journey. Meanwhile, delivered entirely in Finnish, bandleader Anton Belov sings, speaks, and growls as the music demands, backed at times by Alina Belova’s ethereal voice. Belov chose Finnish—a language that is not his native tongue—as the base for Kauan’s works because of its sound and melody, and because few people understand it, allowing listeners to focus on the vocals’ musical qualities rather than the lyrics. Belov and Belova’s vocals add to Wayhome’s narrative feel while leaving the details of the journey up to the listener (unless you speak Finnish, presumably).

Ultimately, Wayhome’s success rests on how well its elements work together. No single performance rises above the rest, and rarely is the spotlight aimed anywhere in particular. Kauan simply let the songwriting shine holistically. Even when an instrument is isolated, it thrives in subtlety—either laying the foundation for a sweeping crescendo or providing resolution after a soaring passage lands. Still, the album feels both full and restrained; always captivating, never overbearing. One slight downside to the compositional restraint is that there are few true standout moments in the album’s fifty minutes. And, being picky, the bass could be a bit more active and the production—although excellent—slightly brighter to help highlight some of the shimmering melodies. But Wayhome sustains such beauty and quality across its entire runtime that these minor quibbles are almost meaningless. 

Over the course of two decades and ten albums, Kauan have wrought a style that’s uniquely their own, and Wayhome stands as a testament to their craftsmanship. A patient but stunning listen, the album is especially impactful when its lush compositions are taken in alongside its conceptual arc. Each musical element serves the work as a whole, making the record cohesive and robust from front to back. Wayhome is a strong contender for any year-end list, and it’ll certainly be the most relentlessly beautiful album we cover this year.

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Recommended tracks: play in its entirety
You may also like: Tenhi, Uaral, Brévine
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Artoffact Records

Kauan is:
– Anton Belov (guitars, vocals, keyboards, programming)
– Kristian Merilahti (drums)
– Niko Salminen (bass)
– Helena Dumell (viola)
– Alina Belova (backing vocals)