The contemporary instrumental Progressive Rock landscape often finds its lifeblood in liminal territories, where the boundary between the real and the imaginary dissolves in the reverb of a single note. Hadal Sherpa, a Finnish collective from Vantaa, have built over the years a sonic identity that is a true geographical paradox: a Nordic soul breathing the sands of Middle Eastern deserts and the sidereal depths of space. With their fourth album, significantly titled “Mountains,” the band delivers not merely a new collection of tracks, but a work that exudes extraordinary emotional density and compositional maturity, marking simultaneously a point of no return and a spiritual testament. The genesis of this record is, unfortunately, tied to an event that inevitably shapes the listening experience: the sudden passing, in July 2025, of multi-instrumentalist and creative mind Vesa Pasanen. Recorded across a long series of sessions between 2021 and 2025, between rehearsal rooms and home studios, “Mountains” was finalised posthumously in early 2026 thanks to the support of producer Max Laine and bandmate Ville Kainulainen. The result is an album that goes beyond being a tribute — it is a vibrant celebration of a musical vision that fuses psychedelia, Prog and Ethno-Rock into a single, uninterrupted breath. The opening is entrusted to “Camel on Moon,” a track that immediately declares the work’s ambitions. From the very first notes, the listener is projected into a dimension where Oriental and ethno influences intertwine with the choir (comprising Paula Rautoja, Saara Salo, Sonja Suni, and Mari Laari), creating a sacred and oneiric atmosphere. This is the band’s most ethereal side: a bridge stretched between the warmth of the desert and the cold of cosmic void. Here, Psych-Prog takes on Space and Desert shades, with a granite rhythmic section over which Pasanen‘s guitar embroiders extended solos, dense with effects and with an inner narrative that needs no words to move. The constant time changes are never gratuitous, but serve as propulsors toward distant spaces that Hadal Sherpa’s sound fills with wisdom and mastery. In “Goat Gaze,” the band slows the pace to concentrate on a hypnotic transition. This is the moment where the power of Ilja Juutilainen’s bass and drums comes to the fore, capable of generating grooves rooted in the purest modern psychedelia. The melody is iterative, almost a mantra, culminating in typically desert melodic openings. An organic crescendo is felt, exploding into passages where the wind instruments (Pi Viana‘s flute) and traditional instruments such as the oud and saz dialogue with rock distortions, creating a riot of ethno-psychedelic rock that fascinates through its ritualistic nature. The journey accelerates sharply with “Dark Tides.” The opening is a spiral of distorted melody that steers the record toward high-velocity Space Rock territory. The rhythm is relentless, almost obsessive, while synthesisers and modulated effects create a lysergic carpet onto which Oriental themes are grafted. The emotion that emerges is that of being aboard a Vimana, the ancient celestial chariot of Vedic mythology, launched among the stars. The sonic layering is impeccable, capable of evolving the central theme toward a second section with heavier traits, where the race through deep space shows no sign of stopping, driven by a primordial energy. With “Ormus,” Hadal Sherpa explore the complexity of Ethnic Progressive. The structure is fragmented by constant time changes and elaborate drumming that challenges the listener without ever alienating them. The power of rock mingles with ritualistic sounds, creating refined technical textures that wrap the listener in a total sonic embrace. It is perhaps the most dynamic track of the lot, capable of alternating moments of overwhelming intensity with more technical passages, culminating in a finale where Heavy Prog-Psych and Ethnic elements fuse in a crescendo of rare beauty. A moment of necessary suspension arrives with “Return to Farum Azul.” Here the atmosphere becomes dreamy, delicate, almost cradling the listener on the dunes of an imaginary desert. Guitar arpeggios layer over a carpet of enveloping keyboards, supported by a precise bass underpinning a guitar solo of rare elegance. Although Floydian traits may appear as an obvious reference, the band manages to maintain a markedly personal imprint, avoiding the clichés of the genre. The track culminates in a pompous and exquisitely progressive choral section that bestows upon it a monumental dignity. The title-track, “Mountains,” stands as the pulsating heart of the entire work. In just over six minutes, the track synthesises the artistic journey undertaken by the band over the past four years: a vertiginous sonic ascent where rich blends of guitar and keyboards fuse with desert rock of the highest calibre. Pi Viana‘s flute adds a bucolic and mysterious dimension in the central section, before an interweaving of solos drives the piece toward a climax that exalts the interplay between all band members. It is tangible proof of how music can be a universal language, capable of uniting cultures and different latitudes under a single artistic vision. The closing is entrusted to “Gurbet,” the only non-original track on the album, penned by Özdemir Erdoğan. This homage to Turkish Funk/Psych is the perfect choice to seal the record, definitively confirming Hadal Sherpa‘s global vocation. It is a track that vibrates with a different energy — more earthly but no less Psychedelic — that takes leave of the listener with a sense of completeness. In conclusion, “Mountains” is a mature, intense and profound album. It is not simply an excellent genre exercise, but a spiritual and cathartic journey. For those already acquainted with the band, this work represents the culmination of a path; for newcomers, it is the ideal entry point into a unique sonic world. But, above all technical evaluation, there remains the emotional weight of a work dedicated to the memory of Vesa Pasanen. “Mountains” is his final farewell, a musical testament that shines with its own light and that secures Hadal Sherpa an honoured place in the firmament of modern Progressive. A necessary record, one that knows how to be both sand and stars, pain and beauty.
Tracklist
01. Camel on Moon 06:48
02. Goat Gaze 04:46
03. Dark Tides 05:18
04. Ormus 05:57
05. Return to Farum Azul 05:32
06. Mountains 06:16
07. Gurbet 03:31
Lineup
Vesa Pasanen / Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Bass, Synth, Oud, Saz, Percussion
Ville Kainulainen / Rhythm Guitar
Ilja Juutilainen / Drums, Percussion
Pi Viana / Vocals, Flute
The “Camel on Moon” choir: Paula Rautoja, Saara Salo, Sonja Suni, Mari Laari