Sargeist : "Flame Within Flame"

 I normally prefer Horna over these guys, but they are one of the bigger-name Finnish black metal bands, and their raw black metal sound has not been my thing.  Either I am developing callouses on my ears that make me more ok with this sort of thing, or these guys took more time in the studio to get things dialed in and sound more like something you can make heads or tails of when it comes to the songwriting. Spellgoth is now playing bass, and Shatraug is on vocals, which has not happened since their demo days. He has an agonized enough croak to sell the songs. 

The drummer from Decapitated Christ now plays with these guys and has a more nuanced style that grooves more on "The Chant of the Rotting Tongues". His cymbal work is really on point. There is enough of a reverb-heavy organic sound to this album to give fans of old school black metal what they want, but the songs have more clarity, which is indispensable. They begin to lock into a more typical sound for what they do, the difference being that you can make out the layering of guitars rather than it just being a buzz. 

"Ordained and Adorned" finds the tremolo-picked guitars having a melody that reminds me of  "Sweet Dreams". The vocals are a little more obligatory on this one, but an improvement given what they have done in the past. Even this accelerates into the wrathful storm you expect from them. There is almost more of a Dissection feel to how the chords of "To The Mistress of Blackest Magic".  "Juravit Sanguine" gallops in line with what they normally do in their more deliberate moments, the new drummer continuing to add worth.  "Behold Our Temples Arise" is almost a catchy song, but the croaking vocals do not help their cause in this regard. The guitars generally sound better on this album when they ring out when strummed like this; it creates a more clanging sound. 

"Rite of Ascension" finds them in a wall of ringing sound that is brighter than previous releases but compromises some of the fine-tuning that had made this album work. Dynamically, there is also not a great deal of variation, while not hyper blasting in your face, everything carries a similar attack. To their credit, I will give this album an 8.5, making it the highet this band has scored with me. 

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Horna : "Nyx - Hymnejä Yölle"

 

There are some bands that I do not listen to unless I am reviewing their albums, but I continue to review them as I respect them for what they do. This is the case with the Finnish Black Metal Overlords Horna. I know what I am going to get going into this. They have met me in the middle over the years as their albums are more well-produced and less infested with blast beats than the previous ones. Now 11 albums in the question have to be so what does this album have the previous ten did not? The vocals stand out a little more. Not a great deal. But some. This thrashes as much as it blasts. There is tangible darkness that puts them ahead of half the bands claiming to be black metal. No one is questioning this band's commitment. Some question the band's hateful roots, but black metal should be hateful, and these guys carry plenty of sonic wrath. 

The second song finds the band buzzing along at warp speed. There are subtle nuances in the punch of the guitar, but it hits like a solid wave of sound.  The vocals are a choked rasp, that sometimes is more of a snarl. Not the best vocalist in black metal, but he gets the job done. The drumming does get more deliberate, and vocals join in on some unison chants, so attempts are being made at songwriting. There are more sonic similarities between these guys and Watain, as the guitars carry more of a throb while maintaining a rawness. Watain is a better band, but Horna has now improved to be able to be compared to them. The chorus of the third hymn, has an almost punk feel. Unlike punk, they milk the riffs for all they are worth as this is a six-minute song not a three-minute one. 

The fourth song just buzzes by like the good ole days. They are not letting up any on the song after that either. There are some spooky sounds layered over it, but overall not do a lot new. The song after this one follows not too far beyond the previous one, which makes me wonder, how their fans have already bought 10 albums of the same thing. The last song finds them taking a stab at neo-folk, but it kind of drones on as the only novel elements being they prove they can sing when they want to, I think hearing this sort of thing worked into the average blast fest might make it more interesting. I will give this album an 8.5, there are improvements in songwriting and presentation, but it feels not far from what we have heard from them. 

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Bythos : " the Womb of Zero"

This is not what I think of when it comes to Finnish black metal. It tends to be raw and very blast beaten. Almost punk in it's attitude. This band consists of  members hailing from some of the genre's number one offenders in this regard. These guys have played in Behexen, Sargeist and Horna. The result bears very little resemblance to any of those bands and sounds more Swedish, wit ha tangible Dissection influence present. This is a good thing as the first two songs are very melodic though still very committed to being black metal. It is not until "Sorath the Oppressor" that some of the more feral elements begin to peak out with blast beats bridging sections that are very death metal influenced. No matter what sounds of black metal you are pulling from I think this album makes a very strong argument that it doesn't matter as much as how you put them together and how much you care about writing songs.

With a song like 'Omega Dragon" the Dissection influence becomes even apparent lyrically. The vocals are more rasped. They do include a chanted choir of more sung vocals to haunt the chorus of the songs which add more dark color to the dynamic range of the album.  The production value of the album lends it self to this more melodic sound. The riffing is more nuanced on "Call of the Burning Blood" . Perhaps there has always been this quality of  musicianship and the production was always so lo-fi and raw that you could not make out what was going on . The other option is now they have matured and grown out of that more punk approach of not caring how things sound it has allowed them to realize they can play when they want to. I think the fact they are not playing in a blaze of blast beats also lends itself to having more breathing room to grow.,

More singing shows up on "Hymn to Lucifer" but it sits pretty far back into the mix. It is not until after this song that things begin to default into some of the same old same old. This is not saying it reverts to blast beats, it just feels like things you have already heard on this album and others. This is still well done it just begins to lose some of the freshness it held earlier in the album. The melodies all begin to work off of similar themes . . There is more of a eerie cold ringing to the chords of the last song. I will give this one a 9. I think fans of Finnish black metal whose tastes are maturing will enjoy this. I certainly enjoyed the listens to this I've given this one even if it doesn't make the trek to my iPod as I already have both Dissection and Watain who occupy a similar sonic space. This is being released on Terratur Possessions.

TERRATVR POSSESSIONS · BYTHOS - When Gold Turns into Lead

Black Metal History Month - the True Werewolf :"Devil Crisis"

This is the first album from this band, but their resume includes Satanic Warmaster and Horna, so you know what you are getting into going into this album. I respect both of thoe bands , but they typically tend to fall into the more raw than I like category of black metal, which is common with the Finnish scene they come from. This album might start off that way be is more textured nuance and better produced than what I expected from them going into this. The first song has synths going into it that softens the sound a little, but it is pretty much a very straight forward black beaten second wave black metal sound. The vocals are more forward in the mix and do not feel like an after thought. They are a mid range raspy snarl. :Thy Deviant" kind of bores me as it just drones on the same blasting riff. "Spellbound is marginally better. The ritualistic same intro sets a better stage. The vocal doubling also provides another needed texture. I think sometimes blast beat when this frantic can feel like they are rushing a song in a more punk manner.

"Chi No Namid" finds things changing in the best way possible for them,. Granted the keyboards play a bigger role, but the slow down and let the song breath. This trend continues on the song that follows which goes in an almost Dimmu like direction with the symphonic elements.  They are not as mean, but they are better songs and give me more of a desire to listen to them more than once. "In the Witch of my Heart " has a very Bathory sound to it . This is no surprise since Bathory and Venom are the two bands mowst influential to this brand of black metal though you can hear some Mercyful Fate in the theatrics of how the earlier songs are set up.

It's funny that I just mentioned Venom because that is exactly where this goes on the last song. It has that very rock n roll feel. This album is a great deal better than I though it would be going into it. It is not that dark, perhaps a litle darker than most metal since it is black metal, but more straight forward and less dark than my tastes . Though it 's pretty fun and well done I will round it down to an 8.5 whihc is likely as high as I have ever given a Horna album,. Thos comes out February 28th on Werewolf Records.

Mortualia :"Wild Wild Misery"

As life shits on me I think all I have the taste for is  depressive black metal and funeral doom. So this album is a breath of fresh air. At least the first song. I might get annoyed by the rough production mid way into this. This is being brought to us by Shatraug the master-mind behind Horna and Sargiest. While this doesn't do anything to re-define depressive black metal it hits all the same sorrowful notes you expect. If An Autumn For Crippled Children is too refined for you then this might be your jam. His third album with this project the vocals are suitably agonized.

The drums are this project's weak link. The are buried under the guitar and you can only hear the cymbals. "Out" finds this album begin to wear thinner on me as the songs begin to sound the same. The accents change a little but it drones on the same pulse of feedback for most of the six and a half minutes. At almost ten minutes "Emptiness of All " better expand the dynamic range of this album or it's going to drag. At the five minute mark it's still holding my attention with a throb similar to the first few post prison Burzum albums. There is more attention to detail on this one even if it's more moody vibrational shifts with the shitty garage like mix. 'Stolid" is a more feral fare, but it really doesn't do a whole lot for me as a song. I prefer the emotion that is in the title track.

"To Which Ever End" catches my ear. I am not sure there is anything dramatically different with what is being done here aside from the guitars giving the drums a little more room. The guitar on this album has more feeling in it than what I have heard from the more recent output of his other projects. "Nothing is Given" finds the pace slowing down. I'll give this album an 8 for now despite the rough production it had more moments than I expected going into this.

Sacrificium Carmen : "Ikuisen Tulen Kammiossa"

Much like Arch Goat, when you are serious about bringing the darkness you do not have to rely on blast beats to sound evil it just oozes out of the speakers which happens here . These guys are from Finland, but are not as raw as even some of the bigger black metal bands like Horna, whose lead singer contributes vocals in places.They sound more like the first wave of black metal bands than they do Darkthrone. They trash right out of the opener into a mean machine that would inspire moshing the like no other black metal band in recent memory does. Their guitar solos hit the mark and they display a fine set of chops on each instrument.The gradually become more feral, allowing the guitars to control the tone of the song. Which gives them a much punchier sound than if they just defaulted to tremolo picking.

 They have more in common with a band like Inquisition than they do their country men Horna. The riffs have their own melodic pulse. "Nemesis" starts with both more epic mood as well as more feral, the latter winning out at they devolve into rapid fire blast beats. The vocals are generally a dry mid range rasp though at times are layered by a lower death metal growl. The more epic half time beat is put to good use . Time and time again this band proves that faster is not always better as their mid-paced stomping riffs carry the most kick. Some blast beats even cause middle sections of some songs to fall away into the blur of white noise many of these bands operate in. Fast is done right when it enters the fray on more of "Haunting the Chapel" feel. The more stiff punk like snare, irks me slightly. They do end up catching a thrashing groove on "Julman san" that still holds the ambiance, despite the fact the screams are throw out in a hurried staccato cadence more like punk vocals.


 They close the album with the melodic riffing that doesn't compromise the intensity of their attack. The drummer is no one trick pony while capable at double bass and blast beats he doesn't rely on them and knows have to create catchy grooves. This album caught me by surprise and turned out to be a much more melodic undertaking than I thought it would be going into this. I'll round this up to a 9, some of the punk snare tapping and insistence on play too fast for their own good is a pitfall many black metal bands fall into. These guys make songs that stand on their own two feet and are not trying to blast by you in a blur even half the time. This sets them apart from the hundred of black metal bands that show up in my in-box. This album comes out the day before Halloween on Saturnal Records.

 

Horna : "Hengen Tulet"

Not our first rodeo with this Finnish black metal band, who at times has lost me due to the overly raw production and simplistic punk rock style of songwriting. Let us see where they have gone since then. The first tone is better, the vocals are a little buried by it , but for this song it works.  The default to the punk side  of blasty mc nasty, shifting gears to  slow into a good metal groove that thrashes midway into the opener. I might not be blown away right out the gate , but sonically notice an improvement, despite press releases saying they are going back to a filthier place. "Nekromantia" stands out as it slows to more of a creepy throb, but the song before it just blended in with the first song and there was nothing to clearly distinguish them from one another. There is a pretty powerful chug to "Nekromantia" . The song that follows is more mid paced with shouted vocals on the chorus to further the punk rock feel. The bass rumbles out from behind the drums and you begin to get the feeling they put a lot more thought into this one. They revert back to more straight forward blasting on "Saatanalle". They do slow give things a darker pulse and a hellish pound before blasting back into a flurry snare smacking.

The organ interlude that opens "Puhdas" allows for some breathing room, before they throw themselves into another rabid blast beat. This time there is a heavier chug sitting out the snare. The bass rumbles up and generally has more of a presence on this album. This adds to some of the more beefed up heaviness this album carries. They follow this up with more dissonant creepiness , that might serve them better to hang onto more then so eagerly revert back to the blast.As it begins to get tedious once you head into the second half of the album. You can rely on them to slow down just a little over each songs midway point. To the extent it begins to feel a little formulaic. This doesn't hinder the passion they play these songs with. The charge into battle with a triumphant syncopation that falls just short of being a Bathory like viking gallop, though this is slathered in punk influence.the change of pace makes this one of the albums best songs.

"Hurmos" starts of with drums and an anguished cry that takes a more ominous tone. The bass player once again shines on this song. It's almost like mid-period Shining in the down trodden pulse it carries. It carries a big sound that might remind some of Watain. The album ends with the pumped up pound of " Profeettasi" that shows the band using enough restraint to not fall back into blast beats in the first minute, after that its full blast ahead. The next minute that follows is a blur. This album is a step in the right direction for the band, but leans to much on blast beats. I'll give it a 7.5, if you are a fan and you just want blast beats then round it up. It comes out September 22nd.

Black Metal History Month- Top 10 Punk Bands Who Influenced Black Metal

It goes back and forth like the chicken and the egg as to punk's influence on black metal, many bands like Amibex cite early first wave of black metal like Celtic Frost and Venom as an influence. But not black metal artists share this sentiment as Varg as said  he is not a fan of any kind of punk, but likes the Cure. More romantic and progressive sides of black metal like Emperor have no punk leaning and owe more to Iron Maiden,

10- Puke- Only Darkthrone claims this Swedish punk band as an influence, but say they are a big one.
9- Gism- Another band Darkthrone has mentioned
8-Poison Idea- has been referenced by Mutilation Rites
7-Dead Kennedys- Mayhem has covered them.

6-GBH- Bathory cites "Charged" as an album that influenced him.
5-Black Flag- Both Darkthrone and Horna have cited Black Flag.
4-The Cure- Well early Cure is certainly more punk and Burzum and Carpathian Forest have both either covered them or referenced Robert Smith and friends.


3-Discharge -in an interview with Erik of Watain he mentioned Discharge as an influence. So has Mutilation Rites


2- Misfits- Deathwolf  which features members of Marduk is very Misfits influenced, Horna hath said they were influenced by them.Behemoth has covered solo Danzig which pretty much counts.
1- GG Allin- G.G has come up in interviews with Erik before. Horna and Taake also claim him as an influence .

Sargeist: "Feeding the Crawling Shadows"

The raw black metal band out of Finland is comprised of members from Horna and Behexen. The production is lo-fi and cvlt enough for anyone, if it was many more under produced the guitars would sound like static. There are elements to this I like like as the dark vibes coming off of this. It adheres to the metal rule of the intensity of the first track smacking you makes it hard not to like the first track then the challenge is to keep my interest once that wears off. The approach here is what you would expect from raw black metal, blasting and a few gallops here and there.

"In Charnel Darkness" doesn't veer too much of course from where the first song went, though there is a slightly rowdier element to their charge forward. They are not re-inventing the wheel, just making it spin faster. No new tricks are being introduced to this style of black metal, though it does sounds to be a little more feral and triumphant than what I have heard of their previous work. The singer does go into a lower death metal type rasp at times that has some power to it and seems to vary the tone of the song.

Some of the tremolo picking is cool on "Unto the Undead" , but the guitar tone is so tinny, it doesn't bring out the qualities.The vocals are mixed back into the cacophony on this one. Its not until the pace slows in the breakdown of the songs final act that it is able to establish an identity.There is more of the same from "Snares of Impurity" though the approach to the vocals here reminds me more of Mayhem. By this point its all starting to sound the same to me so I find myself forcing my ears through the album.

I love black metal so I want to like this. The blistering fuzz of what is passing for guitar here makes that difficult and " Return of the Rats" is running down the same hill these guys tend to stumble down.Things are more blurred due to the rapid blasties of this one. The half time march these guys gallop into is the only real dynamic element in this one, otherwise it's one dimensional.

There is a little more of a sonic drone to the white noise of " the Unspoken Ones' the speed becomes a mute point , as when every thing is a blast it doesn't seem like it's as intense as it numbs you. The vocal accents are the only thing that lets you know you are where the chorus should be and then the stompy march begins. "Shunned Angel' picks up where the previous song left off , though the vocals are  little more frantic here. The death metal vocals appear sooner here than they do in previous songs, the alternation between the two is back in effect.The lyrics are almost decipherable on this one as well.

Its about time all the songs didn't star the same so "Inside the Demon's" maze does it's job.This is my favorite song on the album even when it accelerates back into the blast they have been at all along. The riff somewhat modulates around the gallop. At four minutes long all of these songs tend to drag despite being so fast.The vocals take a little more of as variance in their phrasing on " Kingdom Below" , but once the momentum blisters this one away you are lost in its storm. Midway into this one there is a somewhat Watain like riff , thats is pretty cool.

When I think "Funerary Descent" it's not as fast as this song. But I don't hear them slipping into doom anytime soon. This one is another blur of guitar, that over powers the drums here. The accents on the end of this one are pretty cool and the riff they chug out on works better than most of this album. I'll give this a 5.5 as most of it sounds the same if you are a fan feel free to round it up a point and take some time to contemplate why you like it when all the songs sound the same and is it a reflection on your lack of depth and layers as a person.  




  

Horna: "Askel Lahempana Saatanaa"

The Finnish black metal band features members of Behexen and Sargeist formed in 93 as Shadowed and while they have a slew of splits and. E.ps this is their eighth studio album. Held in high regard on many a metal message board, these guys have few bells and whistles and play pretty raw straightforward black metal. Most of the songs ur together for me so in breaking it down to look at by a track by track basis will be a little weird. It opens with the title track which is at a more Burzum pace, the lo if drum sound paints it into that sort of corner, the vocals are angry but one dimensional and the guitar panned hard and fuzzy on either side. It doesn't take them long to run into some big sloppy blast beats and drunken battle moans. I like the momentum it gains as one of the guitars picks the chords out little more melodically. The more bestial the howl the more variance the vocal haven leeks of scathing intensity, some times they sound like a Neanderthal who is making a complaint to the suicide hotline. Do they play this with conviction that I am convinced of...yes are they breaking any new ground ...no.

Their is that classic black metal drone to the ambiance of the feedback in the way the guitars ring out and this is what lulls me into multiple listens. Sure "Kunmi Herralle, Kuninkaalle" sounds like a temper tantrum in motion. The riff a minute in hits a trashy sweet spot for me. The temper tantrum is tempered with a little groove to head band to where the same emotion allowed to run rampant on the next song sounds like a method out cookie monster trying to explain something during an anxiety attack. There are traces of death metal in their sound whether they like it or not mainly on the very straight snare patterns and the more a typical blast default settings. The drums do have a bit of thunder here and there.

"Yhdeksas Portti" begins to sound like the song before it and in side the blasts I hear the life expectancy of this album dismiss as I try to find what is separating this songs aside from a riff here and there a Knute and a half in. The vocals become more one dimensional as this album continues on and I find my self realizes this only on the fourth song. It makes me wonder if I'm asking too much and why these guys are held I such high regard and what does this say of the people who hold them there.

The riffs at the beginning of "Ei Aikaa Kyyneleille" could be more boring and repitious if they tried , the riffs are sinking in the production as the guitar looks for the openings as the drums gives them with the base lost somewhere on the mixing board. There are riff here and their but lone riffs doesn't makes a song . They just make a riff which is only as good as what it is connected to.

The ugh and the punch of the bass before it disappears are the only thing that separates "Karsimyksin Vuoltu" for. The other songs. It loses it blackness to blandness, the tremolo parts touch on a few wood notes here and there. Theres the feeling you are rolling through waves on the Baltic ocean and stumbling drunkenly across a battle feil. It those moments only come when the songs one cool part surfaces.

"Aamutahden Pyhimys" Is more straight ahead blasting I have heard a thousand times and unless.ayerdwith something intresting or transitioning into some intresting ns become boring to me when just left it it's own devices, I guess this is where the connect. Etween black metal and punk kids lies, we like boring repetitive fast playing which requires. I songwriting and little musicianship. The gods forbid it would be something you would have to think about.

The album closes with " Pala Tai Palvele" and "Ota Omaksei, Luoksesi" the song are pretty interchangeable and tread indentical ground fast blast tremolo pick , the latter goes into a little more of a gallop but. Itching to broaden their range any more than. A half step here and there.

I'm not the biggest fan of modern bands coming across raw and unproduced , though Cultes Des Ghoules certainly pulled it off well and when I have them in my iPod there isn't really room in my iPod to clutter it up with this sort of thing, so I'll give this album a four as its good white noise in the background and I guess a riff that stands out here and there is good enough for some people.