Review: A.W. Yrjänä – Eidolon (2026)

Eidolon is A.W. Yrjänä’s second solo album.

Founded by A.W. Yrjänä in Tornio in 1985, CMX started out as a punk band, but the group soon expanded its musical style. The simplest way to describe the band’s extensive catalog might be “heavy alternative rock.” Despite its punk roots, one of the band’s key influences—as it has branched out in many directions—has been progressive rock. Prog has been evident to at least some extent on nearly all of the band’s albums since their early days, and it has taken on a particularly prominent role on the albums Dinosaurus Stereophonicus (2000), Aion (2003), and Talvikuningas (2007).

Prog has always seemed to interest the band’s members the most—especially its main songwriter and frontman, A.W. Yrjänä. If I understand correctly, the rest of the band has at times resisted this interest and steered the music more toward basic rock. Apparently, this conflict was at least partly behind Yrjänä’s decision in 2022 to put the brakes on CMX and go solo.

His first solo album, Heliografi, was released a couple of years later. It was a surprisingly lackluster collection. There were a few better tracks among them, but the album as a whole lacked definition, and the weakest tracks sank to the level of almost Arttu Wirskari-esque* pop dregs. Somehow, one expected that Yrjänä, having freed himself from the CMX straitjacket, would aim higher. When you combine this with the lackluster music on his debut album and his appearance on the Vain elämää series **, I couldn’t help but think that Yrjänä’s days as an artist who interests me are behind him, and that what awaits him is tabloid fame and, possibly, a lucrative career as an artist on Mökkitie Records. I didn’t take this personally. I’ve never been a devoted fan of Yrjänä or CMX, and there’s certainly plenty of other interesting music out there.

*Arttu Wiskari is a popular Finnish pop star whose music is pretty run-of-the-mill pop.

**Vain elämää is a Finnish reality TV show in which pop stars cover each other’s songs.

Read also: Review: Angine de Poitrine – Vol. II (2026)

But. A couple of years later, Yrjänä manages to surprise me. I’m not one of those cliché prog fans who thinks that more is always better and that a long song is the key to happiness. Still, I have to admit that my interest was piqued when it was announced in advance that Yrjänä’s new album, Eidolon, would consist of only two tracks, each the length of an entire record side. At the very least, it was clear that Yrjänä hadn’t, after all, ventured any further in the direction of Finnish pop-schlager than he had on Heliografi.

As I mentioned earlier, Yrjänä has eagerly and unashamedly reached toward prog on a few of CMX’s albums, and Eidolon is a clear continuation of this trend. In addition to its scale, another obvious connection to prog is that Eidolon is a concept album. Yrjänä himself has described it as being built around excerpts from a war correspondent’s diary in the midst of war. The album is even dedicated to YLE’s* brave Antti Kuronen, who recounts events in various conflict zones in a disarming manner, with his tearful voice. At this point, it’s worth mentioning that the lyrics are in Finnish.

*Finnish national public broadcaster.

Although the first impression is monumental, Eidolon’s music is by no means extreme prog, even though the overall style is relatively technical and occasionally veers into erratic time signatures (in the third part, they even sing, “So let’s dance while we still can / even if the time signature is tricky” in Finnish) or unpredictable staccato rhythms. The album is lightened by a few catchy choruses sprinkled here and there, and the level of difficulty is certainly not insurmountable, certainly not for those accustomed to CMX’s earlier music.

There’s a new kind of looseness in the playing and production that was missing from CMX’s work in recent years. The songs on Eidolon, co-produced by Yrjänä and Erno Laitinen, were created more or less spontaneously as the entire band played and arranged the material together. As a result, the album lacks the excessive studio polish and over-polished sound that plagues some of CMX’s albums, even though everything is very well crafted.

The album opens with a 22-minute composition titled “Nom de Plume, Nom de Guerre” (in English, “Pen Name, Battle Name”). The track combines war metaphors with reflections on love and the loss of identity, ultimately revealing itself as a kind of mourning ritual cast in the form of a mass. After an ethereal synthesizer atmosphere, the music explodes into a riff reminiscent of King Crimson. Yrjänä has created this kind of section on several CMX albums, and the initial reaction is mostly, “This sounds good, but not again…”. CMX’s forays into prog have previously leaned heavily toward metal, but fortunately this time around there’s more breathing room in the mix, even though the playing is often heavy-handed once again. It also helps that Oscar Gräsbeck’s synthesizers rise, at least at times, to stand alongside the chugging guitars of Jaakko Rossi and Erno Laitinen.

It quickly becomes clear, however, that this is not a “symphonic” work like “Close To The Edge,” but rather a collection of songs with their own independent verses and choruses. Divided into five parts, “Nom de Plume, Nom de Guerre” is nevertheless woven together by a few unifying riffs and snippets of lyrics that create at least some semblance of cohesion.

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The second half of the album features another 22-minute suite consisting of five parts, titled “War Correspondent.” The numbering continues directly from the previous series (I–V), so “War Correspondent” can be interpreted as the second half of the same ten-part Eidolon cycle. Whereas “Nom de Plume, Nom de Guerre” dealt with the disintegration of the self through war and abandonment, “War Correspondent” continues this same internal war with new imagery: espionage and betrayed trust (VI), labyrinthine disorientation and the loss of identity (VII), and finally, apocalyptic poisoning (IX). Ultimately, the work culminates in a surprising call to action.

The second half, too, is more of a series of songs than an actual prog epic with its intros, themes, repetitions, and so on, but it seems to stretch the boundaries of the individual sections a bit more freely. As a result, “Sotakirjeenvaihtaja” feels like a bolder and more natural leap into the world of progressive rock. There are more stylistic contrasts in its various parts, and perhaps paradoxically, this is precisely what allows the sections to flow into one another more seamlessly. Or at least the whole feels like a more natural musical journey, progressing from point A to point B via a few detours and repetitions.

The first section (VI), supported by a slow, gently chugging bass riff and jangling percussion, gives way to the second section (VII), with its heavy riffing, spoken vocals, and lighter, jangling guitars. From there, the song jumps through a chaotic transition into the third section (VIII), a part that’s more playful than the rest, which, with its electric piano and hand drums, is downright funky.

The fourth part (IX) is the longest in ”Sotakirjeenvaihtaja”, and the transition into it feels a bit abrupt. It offers energetic and catchy alternative pop, but toward the end, the piano playing ornate patterns, the synthesizer, and the mechanically recited final lines foreshadowing destruction introduce a slightly more unsettling tone. The final track (X) is almost entirely instrumental. It builds from a quiet beginning, where the synthesizer plays enigmatically, into a powerful, heroic crescendo. Over the rumbling guitars, a wailing synthesizer takes center stage, along with the song’s only sung line—the imperative ”Menkää ja tehkää! (“Go and do it!”).

“Nom de Plume, Nom de Guerre” is a fine medley of Yrjänä’s old strengths, but “Sotakirjeenvaihtaja” reaches out in a more intriguing way toward something entirely new. Hopefully, this journey of discovery will continue to venture beyond this horizon as well.

Eidolon could use a little more creative madness and bolder departures from convention to be a true masterpiece, but even as it is, it’s a strong album and a delightful take on modern progressive rock for the whole family (this could appeal to both mothers and daughters alike)—and, above all, an important step forward following the lackluster Heliografi. I hereby solemnly promise that I will no longer call Aki Ville “Arttu Wiskari Yrjänä” in a derogatory way.

Best tracks “I”, “III”, “V” “VII”, “VIII”, “X”

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI

Read also: Review: Yes – Aurora (2026)

Tracks

Nom de Plume, Nom de Guerre 22:20

I (7:12)
II (4:01)
III (4:13)
IV (2:52)
V (4:02)

Sotakirjeenvaihtaja (21:50)

VI (2:46)
VII (3:59)
VIII (4:14)
IX (6:05)
X (4:46)


A.W. Yrjänä: vocals, bass guitar Erno Laitinen: guitar, vocals Jaakko Rossi: guitar, vocals, Oscar Gräsbeck: piano, keyboards, vocals Jakke Saarinen: drums, percussion

Producer: A.W. Yrjänä & Erno Laitinen
Label: Vallila Music House

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