Finland’s Sarastus (Finnish for ‘Dawning’) was formed in 2014 and has 2 full-length albums since then. I grabbed the promo for Agony Eternal as I have been on a back metal/melodic black metal kick of late, and the promo dropped terms like ‘anthemic hooks are at the forefront’, ‘melodies spiral with nightsky fervor’, and ‘too catchy’. Throw in a guest appearance from the late Trevor Strnad, I gave this a go.

Agony Eternal is indeed all the statements above as members Dusk (guitars/bass), Galgenvot (vocals), and Anzillu (drums) have a firm grasp on the genre with a really nice delivery of freezing, very melodic black metal, without synths or heavy atmospherics, that will be a no-brainer for the likes of Istapp etc.

The riff-centric approach gets right to it with opener “Gravelust”, but it really grabs my attention for the second track, “Agony Eternal”, and rollicking third track “Towards Eternity”, where shrill tremolo-picked melodies are indeed at the forefront and spiral with nightsky fervor.

The first 2/3rds of “Where Cruelty Never Ends” slows the album’s initial onslaught down to a more somber mid-paced stomp and haughty gallop, as most black metal tends to here and thereBut it peaks with a traditional tremolo-picked fest.

“No Horizon” is a true mid-paced paced almost black and roll number before “Metamorphosis” increases the tempo a little to a more feverish, frosty romp. It’s all super catchy and memorable, which is sure to upset the more grim and true black metal crowd, especially considering the album’s far more menacing moniker.

Even more mid-paced, rocking melodic stuff appears at the start of “From Pride, To Shame, To Misery,” where some semi-baritone, clean vocals appear as well. But I prefer the album’s earlier frosty, blasting melodicism a little more. Luckily, penultimate track “Into the Lair” and final rip-roaring number “1644” (with more clean vocals) deliver it in spades, imbuing Old Man’s Child‘s debut a little to these ears.

A solid third album, though I’m not quite sure I’ll be grabbing the back catalog instantly as I have with other bands. But certainly a fine album, I’ll play here or there as the mood strikes me.

[Visit the band's website]

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