To begin, the delectable guitar work by members of Chaosweaver extends far beyond grungy distortion and mindless melancholy into some imaginative lead work. Subterranean growls have their place, but the lead screamer (also of Barren Earth and Swallow the Sun) pitches his strangulations into a higher range. Synth accents eschew grandiose sweeping gestures in favor of more humid, skin-on-skin melodies. Some dark choral chanting appears over much of the record, hearkening to the folk dirges of Arctic Circle tenants Tenhi. Piano lines rise at choice moments from the shadows, not the mournful or chilling doom metal mainstays but much more vibrant, comely themes. There's an attention to cultural sensitivity in a track like "Roihusydän" that welcomes the traditions that much of mainstream metal shuns.

Overall, Kuolemanlaakso achieve a much more rockist energy than most modern metal allows, from their head-nodding tempos to their vocal arrangements to their implementation of multiple moods and refusal to rely on intense aggression to convey their every point. Don't be fooled, though: I've spilled extensive verbage on the ways Kuolemanlaakso have carved their unique identity, but all the necessary cloven-hoofed, bat-winged touchstones occupy their respective positions and claim their territory with admirable force. _Uljas uusi maailma_ is pure, savage, dick-tripping metal. But it's also, wonderfully, much more.