Review: Pressure Points – The Island

Style: Progressive Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Amorphis, Wintersun
Review by: Christopher
Country: Finland
Release date: 17 March, 2023

The years are often backloaded when it comes to music releases; we’ll get to October and suddenly a glut of amazing albums drop at once. And even though I know that, still, when I get to this time of year I start to think, “we’re a quarter of the way through the year and vanishingly few truly great albums have dropped”. Where are the top ten contenders? Where are the hidden gems that should reveal themselves unto me? 

From Finnish group Pressure Points, a challenger approaches: The Island, coming a full eight years after their sophomore effort False Light. Although ostensibly progressive melodeath, there’s a more whimsical element running throughout The Island; imagine if Opeth’s progressive rock influences had been neo-prog instead—neo-prog death, if you will—and you’ll start to understand what you’re in for. 

To that end, opening number “Our Constellation” sets the scene well: uplifting piano follows the lead guitar lines through melodic verses and anthemic choruses all sung by Juha Tretjakov with an Akerfeldtian breathiness and timbre. So far, so Opeth, but the vocals suddenly veer into theatrical falsetto over a staccato choir straight out of Devin Townsend’s “Juular”, and the song crescendos by plummeting into the depths of prog death heaviness. This ability to move adroitly between neo-prog playfulness and the more Opethian progressive death passages is what defines Pressure Points’ sound. 

“So Ordinary” continues this tendency, starting out a little more maudlin than most of the tracks, before segueing into a blast beat accompanied by ominous swelling brass better suited to a Wilderun track. Piano flutters through the verses of “Two Moons” which sees the harsh vocals take centre stage and a dissonant, apocalyptic despair drenching the music, before concluding unexpectedly softly with a weedily, bittersweet synth lick, better suited to a Moron Police track, playing us into an acoustic guitar outro. 

“Leaves on the Road” veers into radio-friendly neo-prog rock territory akin to Transatlantic or Frost*, until the harshes inevitably pierce through. But the clear stand-out on The Island has to be “The Night Inside”. As well as being arguably the heaviest and catchiest track on offer, it also explodes into an instrumental smorgasbord with solos and riffs aplenty before culminating in an absolutely joyously anthemic bridge, followed by an irrepressibly fun synth/guitar duel. Indeed, it’s probably the best prog metal song I’ve heard from 2023 so far and perfectly encapsulates Pressure Points’ charismatic blend of light and heavy.

If Pressure Points have a failing, and it’s a pretty big if, it’s that the closing titular epic doesn’t quite live up to expectations. “The Island” feels a little spent somehow; all the ingredients are here, but the vocals are a little pitchier, the riffs and synth licks follow on from all that came before but I just wish it were a bit more epic. Perhaps, after the irrepressible joy of “The Night Inside” my expectations were raised too high to be met. I really don’t mean to sell this track short—I’m a reviewer, we’re a pedantic breed—because ”The Island” is a strong song, it just doesn’t manage to exceed the majesty that preceded it, surely the cause of any epic closer. If I could swap its place on the album with “The Night Inside”, I think that’d resolve this (very minor) qualm. 

With all that said, The Island is the first progressive metal album of 2023 to truly impress me (i.e. it’s not Exul). The deft balancing of accessible, melodic neo-prog cheese and grandiose prog death makes it an unexpectedly rousing work, uplifting and thrilling more often than sombre and ireful. Pressure Points present a confident, inspiring and reassuringly familiar work which nevertheless offers its own adept little twist on a well-worn genre, one strong enough to be a serious contender for my end of year top ten. Show me what you’ve got, 2023, because this is your competition. 

Recommended tracks: The Night Inside, Our Constellation, Two Moons
You may also like: Winteria, Subterranean Masquerade, Transatlantic
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Art Gates Records – Website | Facebook

Pressure Points is:
– Juha Tretjakov (vocals)
– Kari Olli (vocals, guitars)
– Vili Auvinen (drums)
– Janne Parikka (bass)
– Veli-Matti “Wellu” Kyllönen (keyboard)