When an album makes me write a tribute to the entire world of music, that album has to be good, right? Like I wrote in other reviews: "a good album works inspiring", and that's exactly what happened here. This album, the fourth by Finnish genre-benders Mr. Peter Hayden, is nothing short of astonishing. It breaks boundaries between pretty much all instrumental rock genres, including post rock, psychedelic rock, and progressive rock.
Ambient and doom metal are present as well. The massive opener 'Looking Back At Mr Peter Hayden' begins with gloomy ambient tunes and evolves into something between Monkey3, Russian Circles and Hawkwind. Heavy riffs support a psychedelic jam, guiding a sonic trip through space. The beauty of it all is, PH make it sound so easy, as if these hypnotic jams are a part of their dna, or something like that.
During my first few listening sessions, heaps of bands came to mind. The ones I mentioned above to begin with, followed by Master Musicians Of Bukkake, A Swarm Of The Sun, Earth, Yob, Om, Mogwai... These names should give you a decent idea about both the versatility of the album and it's immersive and narrative nature. 'We Fligh High', for example, is a psychedelic masterpiece, to be enjoyed by post rockers, doomers and psychedelic rockers alike.
I guess the only downside to this album is its length. 36 Minutes is a bit short for an album like this. However, there is an easy solution to that: play the thing on repeat. Chances are, you might not even notice that you're listening to the same album several times in a row. There is always something new to be discovered and it never gets stale. I mean, I've been listening to it for three hours now.
Well, this turned out to be quite an odd review, but I guess that's ok. 'Eternal Hayden' is an odd album too, one that will certainly end up in my day-to-day playlist. Closer 'Rock and Roll Future' will often cause my head to shake while I'm doing those dreaded household chores. So yes, I will recommend this album to all of you. This is instrumental rock music at a very high level. You won't regret it.
Serge