This is a quirky album. It is its own best friend. Some parts are super fucking depressing, parts where you’ll boogie till you puke, and then parts where you just feel alive. So, how is it a Black Metal album? I’ll speculate on that in a second.

It’s Punky as fuck on the opening track “Space Heater”, like Reverend Horton Heat on meth. Hyper as an un-medicated child with ADHD, it’s bold and brash and doesn’t give a shit what your mom thinks. “Ærlig Talt” reminds me of Björk and her vocals with the Sugarcubes; hell, even on her own, she’s an angel. The song has a sense of whimsy and positivity (they could be singing about slaughtering kittens for all I know; it’s in Norwegian).

“Stellar Suicide” is a perky Goth chick in a sundress, but when Twin Serpent goes dark, they go pitch fucking black. So the song jangles and bangles along all the while begging for your attention. It’s also the single from True Norwegian Blackgrass, oh, the wonders of insanity! “Freak Flag” is one of my favorite tracks, “come join the dark side, come to the cool side”! I fucking love it, and it’s all delivered in this delicious homage to American Bluegrass.

But this is ‘True Norwegian Blackgrass’… how is this album, with no blast beats whatsoever, barely any distortion, and absolutely zero mention of Satan; how can this be a Black Metal album? Very carefully, if you understand the core beliefs of the Black Metal movement. These are lyrics about love and loss (“Ain’t Home No More”), the epic breakup song where the guy coldly states, “you’ll die alone”. Fucking heartbreaking and savage as hell. “Hundromshelvete” is just fun as fuck, like the whole album is fantastic but it’s little bits like an electrified banjo pulling off some deadly solo licks that get the redneck in me doing something like dancing.

“Tusen Takk” is this drawly, lazy as fuck until the 1:13 when the song sits up and yells at its kids to shut the fuck up. “Radiophobia” has this apocalyptic Nick Cave vibe to it, and that’s another reason why I like this album so much. It has that Tom Waits awkward and off-kilter time signatures that laugh in the face of all convention, and that, goddammit, is what makes this a Black Metal album.

There’s songs that give me the willies. “Forventninger” is just wilding with itself. Around the 1:40 point, there’s a badass little break, blink, and you’ll miss it, but it’s killer. “Holy Ghost” has a revival spirit to it, a bit of Nick Cave once again leaks in, giving it a confidence boost. “Kipu Kivi” is a haunting track. Creepy banjo against these almost chanted vocals, Hanna Fauske has moments where she sounds like Björk, and this is one of those times.

Closer “Anti-Nation Blues” erupts in spurts (clean out your minds, ya pervs) at times being quiet and resistant to hysterics, but a second later it’s just fucking chaos and the baby is out with the bathwater.

Final verdict is that I fuck heavily with this album, I became friends with it, we smoked bowls together, and cuddly shit like that. If you think this is up your tree, it just might be. Especially if you’re a fan of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Tom Waits, and Roy fucking Clark. Get this album and line dance in your front yard just to piss off your HOA!

The word ‘rousing’, ‘epic’, or ‘majestic’ gets thrown around a lot. And I am guilty of overusing it myself. And certainly, those words do fit on occasion, for example, Soar’s fine recent effort or 2024’s The Mist From The Mountains album, but I doubt you’ll a more fitting use of those words here in 2025 than on Havukrunnu’s stupendously good fourth album, Tavastland.

Based on the Tavastian uprising of 1235-1237, where a province of Finland rose up against The Kingdom of Sweden and the Catholic Church, the subject matter alone calls for some rousing (buckle up, I’m gonna use that word a lot), epic, and majestic metal, and holy shit do Havukruunu deliver.

The band’s sound, which still consists of atmospheric/pagan black metal mixed with Viking-era Bathory, and a less long-winded Moonsorrow (though they do have a 10-minute song on this album), a sound they and fellow Finns, Marrasmieli have mastered, has been finely honed and crafted to deliver 53 minutes of sheer, blood pumping, truly rousing black metal, heavy metal, power metal mash-up that could cause you to rise up and revolt wherever you live.

“Kuolematon laulunhenki”, starts off the fracas with a stern, mid-paced stomp rife with rousing, Hammertheart-esque clean choirs which are prevalent on almost all the songs, and it sets the tone for the next 7 tracks of sheer perfection, as it weaves a rousing, majestic path through the marching prose and eventual more urgent black metal pacing.

Going through the next 7 songs, seems mindless, as they are all simply brilliantly written and performed, and you should experience and feel them for your selves, blind, without my blathering. That said, the pure Bathory worship of “Yönsynty”, the more fierce “Talvenvarjo”, the title track’s downright blood-pumping chorus, and the vitriolic melodicism and majesty of “Unissakävijä” and its Iron Maiden ish jaunt/solo about 3:30in, are all just fucking amazing. Then, the penultimate song “Kun veri sekoittuu lumeen” feels like a Bathory tribute or medley/cover song at times, especially the closing choral moments which I think are pulled directly from Hammerheart.

11-minute closer “De Miseriis Fennorum”, gets close to being a little much, considering the album’s already pretty long run time, especially with the final 3 minutes being largely windswept atmospherics and instrumental.  However, I imagine it ends the story of the Tavastland uprising in perfect fashion (my Finnish isn’t that great), and ends another sure-fire album of the year contender from these absolute masters of their craft.

However, if you consider the Wrath of the Tyrant EP and In the Nightside Eclipse as Emperor’s, nay, symphonic black metal’s pinnacle, then the debut from Finland’s supergroup of sorts, I Am the Night, will be your elixir of choice.

Like The Mist From the Mountains from earlier this year, and the upcoming Pestilent Hex, this is a 90s black metal-inspired Finnish project that features some scene veterans. It consists of guitarist (and keyboards) Markus Vanhala (Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum), bassist Janne Markkanen (ex-Omnium Gatherum), drummer Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost, ex -Vallenfyre, ex- Bodom After Midnight), and a relative newcomer in vocalist Okko Solanterä (Horizon Ignited), and their love of classic 90s second wave black metal is pretty clear here, and it pretty much boils down to Emperor’s early efforts.

From the album artwork’s color palette, the song titles, the majestic 90s synths, the riffs, and Solanterä’s vocals, it’s clear that In The Nightside Eclipse is the primary influence here, though certainly Dissection’s seminal first two albums and early Dimmu Borgir resonate throughout the album.

Though armed with a modern, cleaner production than Emperor’s more raw early efforts, it’s easy to spot the song references and frosty riffs from the opening introductory title track, though tracks like “Hear Me, O Unmaker”, “I Am The Night”, “Dawnbearer”, and “Ode to the Nightsky” to closer “Holocaust of the Angels” which both have those clean vocals from “Inna A Satana” (which seems to be a reference point for many moments in the album). And all of the songs are excellent, dynamic homages with Vanhala’s keyboards delivering a perfect rendition of Ihsahn’s sublime, crystalline synth work, albeit fuller and clearer. Personally, I found “The Owl”  with its majestic slower midsection and the penultimate “Among the Unseen Ones”, another song with more monkish clean chants to go along with the sweeping majesty, two real standouts.

Ultimately, along with Northwinds Wolves‘ debut, Cold… Dark… Grim from 2018, Warmoon Lord‘s Battlespells from last year, and of course,  The Mist From The Mountains from earlier this year, (though not as fully Emperor based),  this is one of the best Emperor-inspired, second-wave, classic symphonic black metal releases that I’ve heard in the last few years (and certainly the upcoming Katharos will be up there), and a must-listen for fans of the legend’s early offerings

Long before Glenn Danzig became the ill-advisedly shirtless butt of countless metal memes and jokes, the man was responsible for at least 3 excellent albums of darkened blues-meets-rock/metal before things started getting a little… wonky. It’s easy to poke fun at the guy now, but Danzig I-III are goddamn classics and I won’t have you telling me otherwise. DON’T @ ME.

Which is why it’s been so disheartening to see Danzig reach the depths ranging from tired and uninspired (Danzig IV), to downright fucking cringy (2020’s Danzig Sings Elvis… god, just… why?) and everything in-between since his initial solo-career success. There were a few releases sprinkled here and there that showed glimpses of inspiration or past glories, but for the most part, it’s been pretty bleak.

So if I can’t get the real thing back again, maybe the next best thing is to find the best possible imitation, and just like Gruesome is doing the world a solid and giving us more Death 20 years after Chuck Schuldiner departed for Valhalla, Finland’s Black Totem is more than up to the task of giving the world more classic Danzig 20ish years after the band stopped releasing anything I really give a shit about.

And the imitation is nearly spotless. Blackened, bluesy filth just permeates the whole thing, complete with just enough outrageous, overzealous crooning that made Danzig himself so ridiculous, yet somehow so endearing in his glory years. I feel wrong not having a cigarette hanging out of my mouth and a bottle of jack in hand listening to II: Shapeshifting. While things get off to a slightly more upbeat start than anything from Danzig’s early work, the overall tone and feel of first track “Begone Vampire” is unmistakable. It’s a raucous, energetic song that kinda bridges the gap of all things Danzig, including nods to both The Misfits and Samhain before breaking things down into straight-up dirty blues rock on the back half of the song. It’s a super-fun start to the album and leads nicely into follow-up “The Devil” which is just pure OG devil-blues Danzig. I like the vocal interplay between lead vocalist and guitarist “Spit Poison” and bassist “Wera Wolf” – it adds a little bit of extra dynamic to the song and I plays a fairly central theme to the rest of the album.

The middle stretch of the album does add a few extra fun elements to the Danzig love-fest that help to keep things a little less predictable. “Black Nekro Gloves” is a catchy-as-fuck little surf-punk-inspired jaunt that injects a bit of energy back into the mix after a couple more plodding songs, and “Ghoul of Crow Swamp” adds a sludgy, grungy Melvins or Mudhoney vibe that just adds even more to the grit and grime of the whole experience. But after the band is finished meandering through a couple different alternative paths, it’s right back to our favorite New Jersey dark boi with a three-songs stretch of “Backyard Corpse Blues,” “Welcome Lucifer,” and “Warlock,” that would all find themselves perfectly at-home on Danzigs I-III. To further elaborate would just be an exercise in writing for the sake of writing, because if you know those albums, then you know exactly what to expect here.

Look, I never said this was anything special or mind-blowing, right? If you have a special place in your heart for the days before Glenn Danzig was known more for being an Aqua Teen Hunger Force character or getting knocked out in viral Youtube videos – then grab a smoke, open a beer, and settle down with this little gem from Black Totem. It’s a real treat.

Longtime Winter guitarist Stephen Flam has brought forth a beast of an album and accompanying him in this quest is: Tony Pinnisi on keyboards, who acted as a session keyboardist years ago with Winter, Vas Kallas on vocals, and a variety of session players contributing drum tracks, violins and added guitar work.  We even get Joe, from Maelstrom, to lay down some guitar tracks – awesome.  When approaching this album I had some trepidation – 19 total tracks at close to 80 minutes – sweet baby jesus, that is an astronomical feat to ask the listener to get through, but somehow, it comes together sounding cohesive.

First thing to strike fear into you, in case the album-length did not, is the cover.  Goddamn it’s creepy and in keeping to the black n white tone sheds some dark light as to what this album is going to sound like.  “Glowing Red Sun” begins the album as a 9 minute opening instrumental.  Ohhhh Boy!  But if you have listened to Winter’s debut or seen them live, you know long plodding instrumentals are nothing new – however, this is super long, but very heavy.  Then the spoken word moments.  These are referred to various iterations under the name “Manifestation”.  These act as an intro to the real songs, if you will.  They are somewhat creepy and are pretty short, about a minute each.  So the real song starts on the third song – “Twilight”, at over 6 minutes is amazing.  Ms. Kallas has quite an awesome raspy range and her vocals fit perfectly as the Winter-like plodding heaviness is on full display as well as some eerie keyboards throughout the song.  The track is moody, heavy and even has a little avant-garde Celtic Frost Monotheist heavy doomy depressive moments going on.  I feel hopeless when listening to the song because it’s dark, heavy and depressing.  I love every minute of it, because this sounds like Winter, and it’s incredible.  Another spoken word intro and then “Cosmic Blood” comes in with more plodding heaviness.  The 2 minute part with the grinding rhythm section is not only beyond heavy, but just punishingly evil.

“Dark Nebula” is over 7 minutes and more plodding Winter dirge/doom/death filthy and ugly heaviness.  There’s some nice atmospherics going on with isolated drums and vocals.  This goes on for a bit and then the guitars come in and it’s a real epic heaviness and again, perfect and evil vocals to coincide with the music.

Beyond Darkness has plenty going for it – if you can get past the extreme album length you will see how this is a fitting follow-up, to Winter’s Into Darkness.  The spoken word moments are never cheesy and really add to the ambient flair.  Honestly, I would not have minded maybe like 5 of them cut out in total for the album flow to remain uninterrupted, because at times, they do that.  The songs themselves are filled to the brim of the mighty Winter.  Dark, depressive and monolithic plodding heaviness.  The eerie sounds and keyboards that were used to great, but limited effect in Winter’s past effort return and add that extra layer of depth which in turn create a truly, at times, scary listening experience.  When listening on earphones, listen with the lights off.  I did and I thought I saw that 3 headed demonic apparition, adorning the album cover, pop out of the corners of my basement – I crapped my pants several times.

Beyond Darkness has an excellent production, reminiscent of 90’s musical output productions, just louder/punchier and at the same time remaining organic.  Göden have released an extremely heavy debut album that really pushes the Winter sound to the front, while also retaining it’s own originality.  Get this now!

Eradication may lack a degree of adventure and originality, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t simply a rock solid, tight and punchy collection of thrash tunes, minus bells or whistles. “Asylum” serves its role as a catchy, riff-ready opener loaded with killer riffs, tons of energy and catchy hooks. It’s a strong primer for the material that follows. Despite donning several key influences proudly on their sleeves, War Curse exhibit a freshness to their writing that finds the band avoiding slipping into derivative retro thrash territory. Certain tunes raise the stakes and rise above the pack but thankfully there are no throwaway tunes or pointless interludes, as War Curse aim for the jugular and largely deliver a consistently entertaining thrash platter.

The exhilarating “Sands of Fate” is a neck-wrecking cracker of a tune and one of several notable highlights scattered throughout Eradication. Strong dynamics, streetwise grit and headbanging groove compliment a tune packed to the hilt with boisterous energy and powerhouse riffs. “Iron Veil” finds War Curse deftly balancing explosive bursts of aggression with pleasingly melodic currents. Adding to the arsenal are several inspired guest spots adorning the album, including killer solos from Forbidden’s Glen Alvelais (“Asylum”) and Heathen’s Kragen Lum (“Serpent”). Meanwhile a strong vocal performance from Exhorder’s Kyle Thomas lends steel and attitude to the scorching “Deadly Sins.”

The musicianship is watertight, with the shared chemistry and energy evident through the strong workmanlike individual performances. Forgoing unnecessary flash or flair, guitarists’ Joshua Murphy and Justin Roth get the done efficiently with aggressive, catchy riffs, sleek melodies and ripping solos. Meanwhile vocalist Blaine Gordon’s decipherable, classic thrash bark has enough grit and personality to stand on its own and drive numerous memorable choruses. The only real knocks against the album is that it offers nothing particularly original or earth shattering, while several of the track lengths nudge past their welcome, causing some minor bloat to an otherwise tight and vibrant package.

Eradication is a finely tuned album from the up and coming thrashers, successfully merging a rough and tumble aesthetic with refined and precise execution. War Curse confidently mesh their old school values with modern sensibilities, addictively crunchy riffs and infectious song-writing, hammering out an album that sits among the stronger thrash releases unleashed so far in 2019.

What impressed me about Vainaja’s debut record was how incredibly heavy and thick the overall production was. Dan Swano’s influence was clearly made.  With Verenvalaja off the bat I do not get that initial oomph that I did with Kadotetut but the material on this release is much more varied and diverse. Each track seems to be it’s on separate Chapter in describing the resurrection of Wilhelm. The opening track “Risti” builds right away in creating a dismal and bleak ambience that is present throughout. There also are much more “ritual” clean vocal passages on this album and It is also refreshing to hear guitar solos.  Each track or chapter seems to deal with different themes of the undead figure Wilhelm or Bloodcaster for tells. “Risti” which translates to cross goes over Wilhelm’s process of committing blasphemy. Chapter 2 or “sielu” (Soul) deals with Wilhelm’s rituals involving human sacrifice and so forth.   Each of the first five tracks seems to tie along sequentially until “Kehto” the last track. “Kehto” ends very open ended which apparently leads historians to believe that there are to be further continuations of the story of Wilhelm and Vainaja.

If Hooded Menace were Finland’s Horror Movie death doom band then Vainaja would be like a cross of Portal meets Incantation in their approach to death doom.   This album is supposed to be a prologue to many other future chapters in the realm of Wilhelm and with as meticulous as each album seems to be with this group it is exciting to hear where the evolution of Vainaja is going. One thing is for sure these guys are clearly metal as fuck and have distinct passion for the way in which they use story telling to tie in to their compositions.

Overall, this is a very entertaining sophomoric effort and is top-notch continuation from their debut. As much as I wish that the guitars were as up in the mix as their last release Verenvalaja is just as enjoyable as Kadoteut and maybe even more so in that the murkier production seems to fit the music better. Vainaja have a unique sound in a scene that is cluttered with bands trying to play a similar style but with nowhere near the amount of attention to detail that these guys do.  It is still relatively early in 2016 but this one is definitely high on my list so far.  I recommend everything this group has done so far and I really look forward to where Vainaja is going to create next.

In a genre with most bands trying to be the most brutal, epic, technical, evil, cavernous, old-school, whatever else you can think of, the middle of the road can actually be refreshing. It’s also a good place to focus on things like, ya know, actual riffs and songwriting. This is the lane that these Finnish neophytes tread on this full-length debut — the lane of the mid-paced, semi-melodic, and direct. That could easily mean boring, but Cult of Endtime has the chops to make it memorable and damn enjoyable with a sound firmly rooted in the meaty, rockin’ Scandinavian death metal of bands like Edge of Sanity and Mordicus and perpetuated by current acts like The Grotesquery and Revolting, but with the pace and groove of Soulless-era Grave. You could call it “old-school,” but it’s a style that’s really more timeless than retro.

Some doomy plodding sneaks its way into tracks like “Prognatus De Sigillum” and “Hidden Gods,” but the overall feeling of the album is that of a kaiju confidently strolling through a city, toppling buildings without effort. This menacing swagger is no more obvious than in the massive, infectious grooves of “Cairns on Mercury,” undoubtedly one of the year’s catchiest death metal songs. Even though this and most other tracks serve up instant gratification like a platter of bacon covered…anything, there are enough twists and turns, flashes of speed, and atmospheric subtleties to add depth and stave off monotony. The guitars and bass certainly bring the riffs and the heavy, but what elevates this album even more are the varied drumming and vocals. You don’t often hear about memorable drumming, but I found Sami Ratilainen’s tight, creative fills and phrases bouncing through my head just as much as the riffs. The vocals of Heikki Miettinen are equally powerful and agile, recalling Dan Swanö at his most rabid.

I have to admit that I initially disregarded In Charnel Lights as too safe, but it embedded itself in my brain and kept me coming back. Even if it was the most progressive album that I ever heard, it would be worthless if it couldn’t do that. There are plenty of other bands out there trying to push the boundaries. Cult of Endtime is just here to kick ass, and that’s exactly what they’re doing.

“Intro” is laced and loaded, hopping the first shooting star into Hawkwind’s FX galaxy.  The hazy, Nyquil guzzlin’ riffs of Lori S. and Joey Osborne’s jazzy, fill-intensive backbeats are like a pair of old friends you haven’t seen ages.  They build the jam nicely as Mark Lamb’s unshaven bass fuzz plugs the space in between.  Time is taken, but not wasted to lead up to the song’s bulging elephantitis of the riff.  The whole groove they catch is hard and heavy, yet smooth and breezy all in one deadly, downtempo deviation.  Lori provides brilliant, solar-charged leads throughout, and the rhythm section works the pocket matching her every move.  It’s like they never left us, Man’s Ruin never folded and a million other heartbreaking universal coincidences never happened at the same time.  We’ve somehow time-travelled back to ’97, and shit’s cool…it’s just fine.

Lori’s expressive, dopamine-doused vocals are back in session on “Silent Pictures.”  Distortion grows atop patches of distortion, the guitar and bass answering each other in a Marco Polo, call n’ response which spires upward into a locked-on, hallucinatory riff standard similar to their burnout classic, “Free.”  Osborne rolls deftly across the toms, adding cymbal accents and driving blues like only he can.  The lead guitar bends like light through a prism, and Lori’s howl echoes from somewhere deep within the ruins.  Fans of the old school master craftsmanship of Sabbath, Sleep, Man’s Ruin Records’ and the Maryland doom legends will be feelin’ this.  At 3:40 the lucid, psilocybin riffs and the pummeling, larger than God beats coming out of Joey’s kit reach a higher level of psychedelic experience, Mark pushin’ the groove from behind with all of his might while using only a few notes to speak tomes of hard-rock knowledge.  Lori’s lead will send you off to the psych ward permanently, the melodic power and grace of her playing second to none.

A lowdown, barroom battle royal composed of angry bikers is the image conjured from the first warty riff of “Coming Down from Outer Space.”  Osborne’s fancy kick pedal footwork and accurate, white lightning fills give this tune a harder shove, and the riffs are a well-greased engine of dank, trudging doom that’ll trample you like a heard of buffalo.  Careful use of repetition drills the vocals into your head and when you need it most Lori’s main lick sidewinds like a desert snake coiling for a poisonous strike.  Her lead in the second half is all piped up on peyote, turning out to be the song’s secret weapon before it collapses into an oozy pile of tar black sludge.  “Laser Headlights” contains one of the album’s fattest riff-spliffs, a medical grade, power-blues smoker that eventually almost bottoms out, but comes back with 10 times the ferocity at the 2:54 mark as Osborne mangles a traditional rock beat into an infinite fill far vaster than space and time itself.  I think I hear him striking a gong back there too.  Lamb’s low-end tone comes from so far down it practically falls through the Earth, giving Lori plenty of working area to construct an arcane tower of melodious lead-work.  Jesus Fuck…this shit is unholy!

Okay, I lied to you cosmonauts.  “Red River” might have the biggest baddest behemoth of mountain high riffage on the album.  They are plugged into the melodic massiveness of Maryland doom with all of the right note-bends giving it that blood drooling, heat stroke salivation of the best stuff on Man’s Ruin fire scorched roster…and the best stuff in Acid King’s back catalog for that matter.  Lori piles subdued leads atop of the meditative rhythms, every measure hitting the target.  5:16 brings a throne conquering doom riff of proportions I can’t even describe with the English language.  I feel like the answer to my lack of words lies within an ancient Bible I have yet to excavate from a craggy tomb.  They up the octane on “Infinite Skies” which is like a parade of bulldozers running your ass over on 120 degree blacktop…every riff is so in the red that it’s merciless, as the cyclonic rhythms suck you straight into the maddening eye of the storm.  Lori’s vocals haven’t age a bit, in fact she sounds rougher, tougher and more melodic than ever.  The title track only furthers every attribute this record has going for it across an extended, 9+ minute jam that touches down on “Outro’s” reprise of the opening instrumental.  Astounding…

If you have come for a musical journey, you’re getting far more than what you’ll pay for on this record.  Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere isn’t surprising because it’s good; it’s surprising because somehow this great audio force have just created the best album of their career.  With their past accomplishments weighed on the scale, you’ve got a miracle on your hands.  Acid King never made a misstep over their countless prior releases and has now taken everything that rendered their sound unique and transformed it into an impenetrable fortress where they truly wear the crown, and no contender is about to break in and steal it from them.  Is this one of the best albums of 2015?  You’re damn right it is!

The title track “Fleeting are the Days of Man” is an absolute slice of heavy, 70s hard rock bliss that lumbers like Sabbath but is dry, open and head-clearing like Floyd or Rush.  The sound isn’t exactly like that, but the feel is.  Musically, it shifts between earth-moving, gravitational trudges and swifter passages where the rhythm section pushes the speed of the solitary guitarist.  While a lot of shit nowadays can end up retro to a fault, these guys aren’t blatantly throwing arena rock riffs or one Iommi groove after another in your face.  Really, as it stands, I can’t think of any distinct peers to truly liken to Garden of Worm.  They’re really their own thing and that’s fucking more refreshing than a beer and a lawn chair on the face of the sun.  Drummer JM Suvanto is really one to watch…at first you don’t think he’s doing much, but then he’ll pepper the groove with some effortless jazz on the snare or a peppy little fill when you least expect it as guitarist EJ Taipale plays crystalline heavy doom grooves with just the lightest tinge of distortion.  EJ doesn’t let ‘er full-on rip until a squealing, wah-soaked solo brings the main hook back late in the song’s second half.  All the while perpetual motion is maintained by SJ Harju’s crystalline blues.  There are more changes in this stuff than a single listen picks up, and further spins are an absolute must to catch the magic.  Vocally, SJ and EJ split the duties, and end up as the Finnish duo of Cantrell/Staley…saying it “works” is the understatement of the year.  These two are really in tune with each other.  I’d be down for having this tune on the playlist at my funeral.

“Summer’s Isle” benefits from a looming intro that forebodes like a tornado on the horizon making imminent plans on huffing, puffing and blowing your whole house in.  The vocals merge and meld in perfect unison as the melody-greased bass and guitar chords crest on dramatic cymbal rushes.  If Rush was slowed down to the pace of St. Vitus you might end up with a valid reference point as to what’s happening here.  Harju’s low-end dirge is given loft by Taipale’s triumphant, tuneful melodies which buoyantly balance the bass long enough until the somber licks rise into doom-riff grandeur.  Percussively speaking, this thing teeters on a tightrope juggling knives, Suvanto’s sticks reaching for complex beats as often as they lay into anvil-heavy, doom abandon.  The constant fluxes in tempo, especially the speed-ups and more progressive leanings in the later stages are a sight to behold; the song even jumping the tracks into noisy, blasting Coltrane-esque free jazz when you least expect it!  They corral the insanity back into the pen during a break of pure riff-y hard rock after the maelstrom, leaving no stone unturned and no punch pulled.  This isn’t your grandpappy’s doom by any stretch of the imagination!  This is something entirely different.

Largely instrumental, “Desertshore” is heavy on the FX, the guitars drenched in reverb, delay and echo while the bass buries itself in the blues.  Again, the idea of Floyd with a doom-edge and more complex playing comes to mind.  They milk the groove udder until they work up some creamy hard-rock that is always moving forward and never regressing.  I recommend some headphones for this jam (not to mention the entire record) to really immerse yourself in all of the subtle dips and jagged aural ascension.  At the 3:32 mark the pacing sees the song structure take its true form with powerful, emotive vocals strung tight to a beefy doom riff that is the true definition of catharsis for all of the compacted tension heard earlier.  The song ends up a total show-stealer as a result.

19+ minute closer, “The Sleeper including being is more than Life” is practically a mini-album within the main album.  Opening with the tolling of church bells, birds chirping and looping, warped-tape background accoutrements, a long, quicksand slow unravelling of psyche is the order of the day.  Not only is the kitchen sink thrown into the package, but they toss the whole kitchen at you as well including toasters, fridges, cutlery and the whole cupboard full of fine china.  Huge swells of Earthy, super slick doom mixes with twinkling, falling comet melody chords with the bass lines aiming for the chest cavity.  Vocals are sparse though can often be found either soaring to the front of the mix or dwelling in a watery cavern of phasing.  Fuzzy lead guitar interjects the quaking pull of heavier doom riffs and this beast drags itself on haunches so gigantic that every footfall cracks the permafrost.  This is hardly just a punishing plodder though…a My Bloody Valentine grasp of texture and ethereal dreamscape crafting holds equal court with the heavy.  I can easily say that the best listening conditions for this track is during the dead of night with a thoroughly lubricated equilibrium.

Idle Stones is a moving piece of work, and by far the best material I’ve heard from Garden of Worm thus far.  It’s very hard to compare this trio to anyone else in the doom underground.  They’ve got a specialized approach to smashing out riffs, and there’s much more than simply riff-rock happening here.  I’m pretty certain that this album will be on my year end list for 2015.  It took a long time to write this review, because there was so much to absorb and take in.  Doom fans that are looking for a unique take on the genre should pick this up without hesitation.  Highly recommended!

It goes without saying that comebacks are all the rage nowadays (with mixed results), but unlike some others, Rippikoulu is not attempting to shallowly resurrect the past. Ulvaja is the sound of a band with genuine and forward-thinking motivations. So, if you’re looking for more typical Finnish death, you might be in for a disappointment. But, if you have a bit more breadth in your taste, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Ulvaja may not be quite what everyone was expecting, but it is a logical next step. The atmospheric doom that was a secondary element on Musta Seremonia has now taken over. “Jää hyvästi kaunis kesä” opens the EP with some of the bleakest sounds since Unholy called it a day. As touches of early Bethlehem mingle with the plodding heaviness of Celtic Frost’s Monotheist, it’s hard to believe this is from a band just coming off of a nearly 20-year hiatus. They must’ve spent those two decades just brooding and practicing. “Loputon” tries to break free from the oppressive misery with some blackened guitars over a mid-paced rumble, but soon collapses into the hypnotic title track. Awash in soft, female chanting, piano, and lush keyboards, “Ulvaja” hulks and churns its way through the gloaming as the deep, Finnish-spoken growls of Anssi Kartela sound more desperate than ever.

Frankly, it’s a little surprising that Rippikoulu isn’t taking advantage of the current old-school death metal movement. With their legendary status, they easily could. I commend them for obviously doing what they want without regard to what’s most favored and expected of them. This is a must-hear for doom fans. Those looking for Musta Seremonia, Part II should adjust their expectations and witness one of the strongest, but likely most underappreciated, recordings of this comeback era.

Anyway Evil Prevails reunites original members, Rami Jämsä on vocals/guitars and bassist, Juha Telenius.  To say this should have been the successor to World Without God is an understatement since the style and production are virtually identical.  ‘We Kill Our Kind’ opens this 8 song album and the bass guitar has a prominent role on this as it offers great depth throughout the cd.  Excellent groove with double bass soon follows with a a signature Convulse styled blast at the 2.30 part, also containing guitar solos.  Rami still sounds like he did back in ’91.  Really nice dirty guitar sound.  ‘Unholy War’ has quite the killer part with the guitar riff and than the drum roll creeping forward before going into a blast.  This is a really creative part and nice atmospheric ending to the tune. ‘God is Delusion’ has a cool beat, after its acoustic intro.  But whatever you are doing, sitting on the crapper or eating your cheerios, be sure to throw up your horns at the 1.25 part.  This is a signature classic death/thrash beat that is very well done.  The bass guitar pummeling on this track.

The production is organic and at times there is a bit of muddiness to the mix, but overall the riffs come through clear.  The booklet contains lyrics and pictures.  The album cover has, what appears to be, 4 corn stalkish stick figures wandering around near a graveyard about to cause some trouble.  I was puzzled that the band logo was nowhere on the front cover, if this was in one of the few record stores out there, you would have to look at the back of the cd for the logo. Well my forthcoming interview with Convulse will shed some light on this.  In the meantime, if you like classic Finnish old school death metal, pick this up, it’s really good.

This is a classic album in the sense that after its release it is still inspiring bands, yet at the time when it came out it was overlooked.  This album has been reissued so many times and also remastered by Xtreem Music in a killer reissue several years back.  However Demilich have recently uncovered the original source 24 track master recording and now Nespithe gains the ultimate true remaster, which appears on the 1^st disc of this 2cd limited pressing.  How this was not uncovered sooner is beyond me, I mean when Xtreem Music released this several years ago not sure why Demilich would not have dug up the true masters back then.  I think the band is possibly set on making some sort of comeback now and also maybe the fact they were sick of others making $$ off their name, so why not put out the ultimate Demilich boxset, which this most certainly is. 

First and foremost, you have not heard Nespithe until you hear this new master.  Finally the 20+ years of people complaining there was no little to no bass guitar sound on the original will finally be put in their place.  Bass this is Demlich and Demilich this is Mr. Bass-say Hi!  “When the Sun Drank the Weight of Water” has never sounded better and by golly finding the bass guitar adds so much more depth and bottom heaviness to the album and Antti’s vox having even more brutality to them.  “The Sixteenth Six-Tooth Son of Fourteen Four-Regional Dimensions (Still Unnamed)” also has the bass part in the beginning and the part where it gets faster at a little over a minute, is so wonderful to finally hear.  The isolated bass guitar at the 1.45 moment is breathtaking.  “Inherited Bowel Levitation – Reduced Without Any Effort”, quite possibly sounds the best with that back ‘n forth part with the isolated guitar part then drums and bass come in thunderously-this is truly when you will sit back in your chair and say Hot Damn-Nespithe never sounder more evil, fuller and wonderful. 

Disc 2 is named “Em9t2ness of Van2s1ing / V34ish6ng 0f Emptiness” and contains the rest of their recorded demo history and 3 songs recorded in 2006 that were spectacular.  All of disc 2 has also been remastered.  And it all sounds great.  The reissue has a brand never album cover specifically designed for this release, but don’t worry, the original Nespithe cover is included on the cd tray.  The 44 pg booklet took me close to an hour’s length to go through.  Inside are lyrics, liner notes, demos covers, pictures, artwork and a very in-depth interview with guitarist/vocalist Antti Bowman, for this release and you will learn a wealth of info on Demilich.  Some things I don’t agree with, while his bullfrog vocals were not only amazing, he does say no one in the U.S. were doing that.  Very wrong, let me introduce you to ex-Mortal Decay singer, John Paoline who did this style, exactly back at the start of the 90’s.  Antti also refers to Iron Maiden as a talentless band, at one point.  I was like WTF??  For a band that never had enough material for 2 full albums, he has some balls to talk like that about who I regard as the best heavy metal band of all time.  But it’s his opinion and I have mine. 

Anyway I really did not go into the Demilich sound much, assuming you heard them before.  Anyway, you want to hear where Gorguts would get inspiration from, for The Erosion of Sanity and Obscura, as well as hearing some of the deepest vocals of all time, amazing heavy death metal, with some jazz like passages, combined with an avant garde heaviness/style that had not been heard since Celtic Frost’sInto the Pandemonium, along some vicious blast beats and rumbling heaviness and alien like structured song writing-look no further than Demilich and while we can all wish for them to record a second album someday, it seems like if it has not happened by now to think it will one day is wishful thinking.  For now this is the ultimate and fully realized Demilich set that is on vinyl & cd format.  A truly extraordinary and beautiful reissue that you need now.  Buy or Die!!

Opener “Aarnivalkea” puts all of Kuolemanlaakso’s proverbial cards on the table – what is featured in this song is a fair summary of the following seven tracks. This Finnish troupe ooze plenty of contemporary metal influences, but the most obvious point of comparison would be with Irish doom metal legends Mourning Beloveth with their sorrowful twin guitar melodies and the combination of clean and harsh vocals. The sinewey, saturated doom tones are fantastic, although it has to be said the connection between the guitars and the drums sometimes leaves something to be desired. There’s always a fine line between production styles, and it appears at times that Kuolemanlaakso tread on the wrong side of polished.

“Verihaaksi” is a strong track, with a hell of a lot of Cathedral and Candlemass tribute going on. Featuring a sinister clean guitar and crushing Sabbath-esque riffs, this track is compelling, but the following “Me vaellamme yössä” is arguably the highlight of the album, with the most impressive guitar playing and song structure. Again, it’s nothing we haven’t heard before but the Celtic/folk lead melodies are succulent and catchy as hell.

The folky, incongruous “Glastonburyn Lehto” a welcome break from the relentless subterranean chugging (in a good way) –  but is nothing that will have you on the edge of your seat. We have some decent female vocals towards the end of the album, which soar above the doom with epic repose, and there is enough quality riffage to keep your interest ’till the end.

It’s clear that  Kuolemanlaakso are not breaking any new ground here on the well trodden path of melodic doom/death metal, but it’s still a good listen regardless.

Erinc’s drumming is hard hitting and expressive, whether locking down a straight-forward groove or embellishing the songs with more subtle nuances. He instinctively plays within the confines of the guitar-driven onslaught, peppering the songs with some extra flair when the situation warrants.  Meanwhile Hanno deploys a great deal of variety and textures in his intimidating guitar work, easily compensating for the lack of bass and second guitar. The tempo change-ups appear just at the right moments, while Hanno delves out a near constant supply of gnarled, catchy riffs, slivers of melody and feedback drenched textures, enamouring the album with far more depth and weight than a two-man recording has any right to have. The range of riffs is just as impressive; careening from doomy plods, through dirty punk metal riffs, and Nola-infused sludgy dirges, with ample ground covered in-between.  Hanno’s vocals are another strong feature. The bloodthirsty urgency and conviction behind his semi-decipherable delivery oozes menace, his raspy growl the perfectly imperfect mouthpiece to spearhead the onslaught.

The term ‘blackened sludge’ has been thrown about to describe this album, but it only presents a narrow view of what Mantar are all about. It’s more in the variables and execution rather than ground breaking innovation or uniqueness that Mantar excels and transcends easy classification. The duo plays to their strengths, adding clever tempo shifts and dynamics into their no-nonsense metal anthems, while valuing the importance of injecting variety and memorable hooks into their full-blooded offensive. Check out the dirty grooves, riff-driven punch and blackened blasts on “The Huntsman”, or the ridiculously catchy hooks and hellraising riffs on “The Stoning” for further emphasis of just how downright thrilling and diverse the duo’s songwriting can be.

Elsewhere the carnage is similarly destructive, from the feral mid-paced grooves on the instantly catchy “Astral Kannibal”; to the urgent, punk infected gallop and dialled back tempo shift of the powerhouse “Swinging the Eclipse”; the album maintains a high standard across its 45-minute duration. The only slight misstep is when Hanno’s rabid snarl goes AWOL in favor of the spoken word storytelling and dark, doomy riffs on “The Berserkers Path”.  Despite its change in tact and shortish length (2.29 mins), Hanno’s distinctive snarl is notably missed.

Death By Burning gradually descends into its own downward spiral, concluding with the punishing one-two punch of “White Nights” and “March of the Crows”.  Hanno’s impassioned howl bleeds emotion on the foreboding sludge stomp of the former; while the latter is a bleak, apocalyptic funeral march, minus vocals but armed with crushing doom riffs and sinister strands of melody poking through the suffocating darkness.

Death By Burning is a bludgeoning album that hacks firm tracks in the brain and counteracts its primitive edges with genuine songwriting smarts and relentless energy and aggression.  The duo has captured lightning in a bottle with an astounding debut that bodes well for a very bright future.

This variety of 70s proto-doom is shaggy like a forest nymph in the moonlight. The vocalist sounds, in her more sultry and crooning moments, like Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth; when she’s more strident, I get L7. She also sings entirely in Finnish, which, if you’re not from Finland, lends the music an alien authenticity. (If you can understand what she’s saying, I suspect it’s a less impressive effect).

Although I love the bleary-eyed and fuzzed-out sound, the songs are a bit of a mixed bag. They’re all listenable, sure, but not all necessarily dark or forbidding. Bluesy, upbeat tracks like “Uhrijuhla” or “Huutava Taivas, Kuiskaava Maa” sound halfway between Cream and Black Sabbath, while “Kosminen Ruumisvaunu” is a blur of punk and grit.

I much preferred the moodier murk and squawk of “Rock n’ Rollin’ Maailma” and “Hautakiven Varjossa” – particularly the latter’s pastoral, psychedelic instrumental outro. “Antikristus 666,” along the same chalk-drawn ritual lines, weaves in whispered spoken word, crashing cymbals and isolated wisps of bass. For me, though, “Aamuruskon Kaupunki” is the album’s centerpiece – the just-removed and still-beating heart placed on the forest altar. The track twists and struts and seduces with funereal melodies and a death knell bassline before falling into a deep trance of sinister, Goblin-esque sound effects. If the students from that dancing academy/witches’ coven in Suspiria even snuck out to a rock concert, this is what I’d expect them to go and see.

Seremonia revels in its dirt, cavorts in its nakedness, and lures you into the firelight with a wink and the taste of honey on her lips. Still, I’m not fully under her spell. More doses of the occult, keyboard-driven psychedelia next time, and I might finally succumb to her dark, musky magic.

a) an improvisational theater group at an old folks’ home
b) a rival band on ‘Josie and the Pussycats’
c) the latest entry to the female-fronted occult/psychedelic hard rock revival

B would be cool, but yep, it’s c. And that’s a good thing, ‘cause it’s been one of the most interesting retro trends of late, including The Devil’s Blood (my most-played band of the last few years), Jex Thoth (and her side-project Sabbath Assembly), Blood Ceremony, Occultation, Rose Kemp and more, plus female-fronted stoner acts like Witch Mountain, Royal Thunder and Christian Mistress. Come to think of it, all of these sirens for Satan need some kind of genre name by now. Priestess metal? Coven doom? Womb rock? (Someone I met in a turntable.fm metal room even suggested “Doom Titties.”)

Anyway, straight off with “Prayer for Death and Fire” and “Twilight Witchcraft,” this is fun, rollicking stuff. Ominous titles, but the music is not quite – more the type of thing you’d hear in a bar than a dank basement crowded with candles and goat skulls. I guess I’m not too surprised with a cheeky name like Jess and the Ancient Ones (seriously, Jess sounds like the girl next door, or your buddy’s cool older sister who bought you beer when you were 16, and not a spell-muttering chanteuse of the arcane arts). Still, the gal’s got some pipes. Full-bodied and warm, but so far she could be fronting a Pretenders cover band instead of flirting with the occult.

It’s not until the 12-minute “Sulfur Giants” that we get some genuine mystery and atmosphere; sighed vocals and swirling, vaporous melodies wrapped around a core of propulsive rock. From that point on – the mellotron-and-keyboard-laden “Ghost Riders,” the midnight gallop of “13th Breath of the Zodiac” and the pensive, smoky closing epic, “Come Crimson Death,” Jess and the Ancient Ones deliver on their dark promise.

Although the sound and production here are decidedly retro (think Coven), I’d love to hear the band even darker and heavier on the next one, with beefed-up guitars and bass and an overall thicker mix. Jess has the richest sounding instrument here, and although it’s good to have her front and center, she’s not served as well as F is with The Devil’s Blood. A more oppressive splash of occult vibes in the first couple of tracks would have also done a better job of setting the mood.

Nonetheless, if this new occult rock thing is your cup of tea leaves, add these Finns to your playlist. It’s more serious than the name suggests, though it’s still on the lighter end of the spectrum far as this genre goes.

Comprised of the demos Vulgar Necrolatry, Macabre Masquerade and Abhorrence, Completely Vulgar is the perfect way to introduce new fans to an ancient band and allow those who have the dusty old cassettes to enjoy them with today’s technology. The overall sound of Completely Vulgar is not exactly the best, but then again this is a collection of old demos so that is to be expected. Still, the rawness and hunger from a bunch of kids creating a unique brand of death metal circa 1990 goes a long way and many of the songs have such energy that the rather lousy production is cast aside.

The album is being marketed as something that was Amorphis before they were Amorphis, but the truth is that there aren’t a ton of Amorphis references, save for the original version of “Vulgar Necrolatry.” With that said, though, there are some Privilege of Evil and The Karelian Isthmus overtones in terms of sound and delivery. Anybody expecting to hear some sort of Tales of the Thousand Lakes­-styled demos will be sorely mistaken.

Collections of old demos like this are some of the most enjoyable albums to listen to and it’s much more accessible and proper to create and distribute something like Completely Vulgar rather than just adding some of the demo tracks on reissues of older records. And when a band like Abhorrence never ever released anything official as a full length, listening to Completely Vulgar is much more of a treat considering how far some of the members of this Finnish band have come in twenty-plus years.

Along with Nihilist and Nirvana 2002, Abhorrence is one of those great vintage Scandinavian death metal bands who closed up shop well before they achieved any sort of real success, disbanding to form other successful acts in the process. Anybody who fancies himself a metal collector or one who is a metal history buff, Completely Vulgar is an essential purchase. It also doesn’t hurt that many of the tracks on the collection are absolute, primitive monsters that stand the test of time.