Callisto - Discography

Callisto is a finnish sextet of post metal created in 2001. The band has changed their sound completely since the debut in 2004 (True Nature Unfolds). They started off as a hardcore project, but in the aforementioned album sludge and doom metal influences can be heard, and the last releases feature cleaner vocals and overall sound. The band's lyrics speak about christian themes and spiritualism.

The line-up consisted, at 2004, of four musicians (and several guests): Ariel Björklund (drums), Markus Myllykangas (vocals and guitar), Juho Niemelä (bass) and Johannes Nygård (guitar). For the next album, another musician was hired: Arto Karvonen for the synths and samples. For Providence, Jani Ala-Hukkala took part as lead vocalist, with former vocalist doing the backing vocals and scream parts. And for the last album up to date, Johannes was replaced by Tero Holopainen as guitarist.

This post will be a little longer than usual because Callisto is my favorite post metal band. Their early work was too metalcore for my taste, but they soon changed into a post metal aesthetic in their debut, True Nature Unfolds, released in 2004. It's heavily influenced by Cult of Luna, and mixes in a bit of doom metal as well. The whole album has an agressive, bold sound and a straight-forward authentic metal approach without sounding too abrasive. The record received attention from Earache Records, which reissued the album with different artwork in 2005.

In 2006 they released Noir, which followed the steps of the previous album and improved the sound a bit. There is some experimentation going on here, as they added more soft parts that blend together with the harsh parts perfectly. They also added elements from other genres, such as a mellotron and a saxophone. So, this album is really progressive, since it mixes many genres together to create something unique. One may argue though that this album is yet another decent post metal release, and nothing beyond that. I disagree, Callisto really managed to take the atmosphere from Finland and mix christian themes in it, along with diverse experimentation to add to the album's cold, gloomy, envolving and fascinating atmosphere. A true masterpiece.

The time gaps between each album got larger since the debut, as Providence was released only three years after Noir. This is because their songwriting is more complex and involves the whole band, which got bigger as time passed. For this album, there's a change in the lead singing, but not only in the singing - the new member caused a dramatical change. Providence is the exact opposite of Noir. It's soft, warm and just not as good. One may say a heavy band turns to shit in the moment it decides to go softer. Example: Opeth (anyone remember the controversies over Heritage, eh?). This may be true, as the moment Callisto went softer gave us the nadir of their career, but this album has its moments. The heavy ones, that is. They still used that harsh formula of Noir and True Nature Unfolds here, and if there's something good to be said about this album, it's that at least they tried to make something unique. This and the fact that they mastered the change from soft to harsh in seconds. The great moments make this album worth though, they make this album not any worse than albums that i'd rate as 7/10.

Secret Youth came in 2015 furthering their experimentation of Providence in harsher territory. 6 years after their third album, Callisto released a piece of music that recreates the atmosphere of Noir using the elements of Providence. A very interesting experiment, as at the end of the trip you'll be left like the guy on the cover, but will be left hoping for more.

There's not much left to be said, if you want a cleaner sound, go for Providence. For something harsh and metallic, True Nature Unfolds. For experimentation and sadness, Noir. And Secret Youth for a mix between Noir and Providence.

2005 - True Nature Unfolds

 Earache Records

1 - 31 46ºN, 35 14ºE

2 - Blackhole

3 - Limb: Diasporas

4 - Cold Stare

5 - Storm

6 - Caverns of Khafka

7 - Like Abel's Blood Cried For Revenge

8 - Worlds Collide

9 - Masonic

10 - The Great Divorce

155,6 MB - 320 Kbps

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2006 - Noir

 Fullsteam Records

1 - Wormwood

2 - Latterday Saints

3 - The Fugitive

4 - Backwoods

5 - A Close Encounter

6 - Pathos

7 - Folkslave

8 - Woven Hands

125 MB - 320 Kbps

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2009 - Providence

 Svart Records

1 - In Session

2 - Rule the Blood

3 - Covenant Colours

4 - Eastern Era

5 - New Canaan

6 - Stasis

7 - Where the Spirits Tread

8 - Dead Weight

9 - Drying Mouths (In a Gasping Land)

10 - Providence

156,7 MB - 320 Kbps

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2015 - Secret Youth

 Svart Records

1 - Pale Pretender

2 - Backbone

3 - Acts

4 - The Dead Layer

5 - Lost Prayer

6 - Breasts of Mothers

7 - Grey Light

8 - Ghostwritten

9 - Olds Souls

10 - Dam's Lair Road

130,3 MB - 320 Kbps

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                                                      Lasse Stewart.