NORRHEM - VAIENNEET VOITTAJAT (Darker Than Black Records 2018)

 Norrhem Bandcamp

Romanticizing with national heritage, war and nature is easily labelled as to something not politically correct in these times. If you are a pussy. However, Norrhem is not and is delivering the goods with a firm grip and also fails to fall into the vast mediocrity even though the album is not flawless. The atmosphere itself makes this album worthwhile to listen.

The pace is mainly set on quite fast mode yet it flows nicely and especially the drums bring nice dynamics to the music in vein of few finnish counterparts. Melodic guitar riffs are infused with some raw edge and bass, well, the bass is there and audible. Regarding the vocals, they don’t offer anything superb in their mid-low rattling but deliver what is needed. The album itself is built nicely, the flow from track to another is smooth and always so important dynamics have been remembered in songs themselves as well as in the album as a whole. Still there is this small thing of similarity between almost every melodic guitar riff which of course can be described also as a stylistical continuum but in the long run it does turn out to wear the listener a bit.

Still, the aforementioned is a small flaw, so if you are into something which has a nice overall atmosphere of war and nationalistic pride, this just might be your thing!

78/100

CYNABARE URNE - IN THE CREMATION GROUND (Helter Skelter Productions 2018)

Cynabare Urne Bandcamp

Cyrabare Urne is one name to add in the surprisingly-not-so-long-list of active old school death metal bands worth to mention. In a genre so over-populated with more or less boring carbon copies of kings of yesterdays it is refreshing to hear something that is done with a good sense of what quality death metal is.

In the Cremation Ground is filled with venomous, groovy and bulldozer-heavy crushing from the beginning to the end with a putrid stench of hatred. Band has managed to avoid all the potential ways to fail and the result is somewhat brilliant. The groove on the album can’t be overstated as well as the very rotten vocals which sound exactly what they should. And what about the production? The production fits perfectly on the music. It sounds as delicate as finding a violently loved priest with his own severed cock in his mouth.

If you are into groovy old school death metal done with no bullshit and focus on just the plain real thing, then check this out.

88/100

LATHSPELL / MALUM - LUCIFERIAN NIGHTFALL -SPLIT (Helter Skelter Productions 2018)

Lathspell Bandcamp
Malum Bandcamp

The latest (so far) released co-operation between very busy members from Kalmankantaja comes in a form of a split including three songs from both Grim666's Lathspell and Tyrant's Malum.

Split opens with three songs from Malum. Malum seems to be growing into more epic direction as the songs are quite lengthy and strongly built upon atmosphere (not saying it wasn't like that before but it has developed) yet not forgetting the typical catchiness in the riffs and vocal arrangements of the bands former work. From the intro of I Am the Vessel of the Unholy Fire to the nightsky-end of Void the three songs include a good variety of different elements, never forgetting the true essence of black metal. Very solid work and leaves the listener hungry to hear what the band has to offer in the future.

The Lathspell part of the split reminds me interestingly about Enslaved, not just by the vocals which reminds me a lot of Grutle Kjellson but especially for the similar kind of feeling of going forwards. The rhythm guitar sound is interesting taken apart from the whole picture but it supports the overall sound. It is different but that probably makes this sound distinctively fresh. The song writing includes some really nice and catchy riffs, decent drum work and spot-on choices in vocal area yet the best thing on the Lathspell songs is the groove. The music has so fluent flow that it makes this a really pleasent listening. Overall very powerful and merciless performance by the band.

This split includes probably the best sides of both bands and this is something that I can easily recommend to almost any fan of black metal even though this split has the bonehead value in minimum.

83/100

AEGRUS - THY NUMINOUS DARKNESS (Saturnal Records 2017)

Aegrus Bandcamp

Thy Numinous Darkness is the second full-length of finnish black metal band Aegrus. The album is timeless in its scandinavish black metal. The production is top class (note - its not clean) and supports the songs seamlessly. Everything seems to be built upon professional talent.

On the upside of the album, some of its riffs are world class great, for example the riffs on songs Embodiment of Chaos and Thy Numinous Darkness are really good. Especially the main riff on Embodiment of Chaos is classified as a master class-riff. And it is not just the good riffs. Everything is built very carefully to pieces. You can tell that there is a lot effort paid onto every detail. It makes you listen to the album.

On the other side though, there is always a danger in building something carefully and giving thought to every detail (which is by the way the biggest sin in modern swedish black metal). And from this we can derive this point: this album lacks the overall feeling of danger drawn from chaos which is why for example Watain is a bit boring to listen to. And it is not by accident I bring this comparison. Aegrus has the same up- and downsides as Watain. It is a bit safe, but nevertheless it works.

Composing, musicianship, lyrics and production are all very professional level work. In the end this is a really good album and it is something that you can listen from the beginning to the end. Recommended to fans of melodic scandinavian black metal in the vein of late 90s.

85/100

GOATS OF DOOM - ALLA KIRKKAIMMAN TÄHDEN (Primitive Reaction 2017)

Goats of Doom Bandcamp

Goats of Doom plays somewhat diverse black metal which has included a vast variety of different influence in its composal framework. Album sounds a lot like an album which could be made by a band from northern Finland and I wasn’t surprised to find out that the band is from Nivala which is somewhere quite near to Oulu. Oulu region has a strong history of metal bands having something similar in their spirit even though they weren’t even close stylically.

The album is built on seven songs which are, like earlier mentioned, very diverse and dynamic and it could be said that instrumentally the best parts of the album are the ones which actually have very little to do with black metal. This is also a problem considering that this is a black metal recording. The black metal on the album isn’t bad, quite the opposite, it is good but it is just good.
 

The guitars are layering melodic harmonies all along the way with a decent output and the drumming is nailed with a right way as well. Considering the vocals, the harsh vocals are delivered in a good manner, the cleans are ok even though not phrased in a best possible way and the choirs are a bit off yet it fits in nicely. Lyrics don’t offer anything new but they are doing the job ok. The finnish works better in lyrics as well as in vocal output.
 

There are a couple of moments especially in the non-metal-parts wherein the band reaches out to grab a glimpse of perfection and the positive side of the album is the dynamical and diverse songwriting. What it lacks is the final twists to make the music a little more worthwhile. Now it is just good.
 

Recommended to fans of good old melodic yet harshy finnish black metal, with no allergies from small experimenting.

70/100

Nihil Microcosm toteuttaa alkuun pääasiassa levyarvosteluja pääpainon ollessa lähinnä black, death ja doom metallissa sekä satunnaisesti neofolkissa ja kaikenlaisessa kokeellisessa. Myöhemmin mahdollisesti luvassa muutakin.

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Nihil Microcosm is a site focusing on album reviews, covering mainly black, death and doom metal as well as occational neofolk and experimental music.

If you want your own album reviewed, please give me a link to my e-mail.

nihilmicrocosm@gmail.com