Year: 2025
Label: Out Of The Dungeon

Finnish Geatkihaukr opt for a heavy dose of obscurity in their black metal. The name itself is entirely mysterious, and the font used in the booklet will give anyone who tries to decipher especially the statement included a hard time. Add to this a rather minimal online presence to complete the obscure picture.

The album name, however, is a clear indication of the one man project’s attitude. Varjaeger or Varjäger is a reference to the Varangians, Vikings who sailed east instead of west. Apparently, the word Varjager can be traced back to väringar, which means oathsworn. The chosen spelling in the title turns the word into a portmanteau of varjager and jäger, which literally means hunter in German, but has commonly been used for elite soldiers (such as the Finnish jääkäri of the early 20th century).

In other words, from the title and cover artwork onward, the album reverberates with a strong, archaic warrior ethos. This extends to the lyrics, which are replete with imagery of war and especially combating hostile invaders, taking delight in the very gore and violence, not merely a just cause.

The music matches the primal, almost atavistic attitude of the lyrics. Within the black metal spectrum, this certainly lands somewhere there in the rawer, more primitive end of things. However, Varjaeger hides under its superficial crudity and rawness a surprising breadth of expression.

The first thing one notices is the sound, which at first made me think of Norwegian Morgul’s debut Lost In Shadows Grey, minus the synths. In a somewhat similar fashion, the sound is pared down until no excess remains. At its most striking, Varjaeger contains a sharp, distinct, almost solitary guitar track, bass and drums, and sounds like it. Typically, the sonic image would be fleshed out with secondary and tertiary and quaternary guitars to provide a dense backing wall, but Geatkihaukr reduce things to their primitive core. The brittle and perhaps even a bit thin guitar playing rudimentary, straightforward riffs makes one draw certain parallells to masters of black metal primitivism such as early Ildjarn.

Musically, Geatkihaukr’s rabid style is a descendant of the cold and dry style pioneered by acts such as Darkthrone and Judas Iscariot. There are absolutely no mitigating factors to the abrasive, crude and unplished style. No finesse, no flourishes, no sophistication. And that’s just how black metal like this should be like.

Geatkihaukr can and will surprise, though. Beneath the raw sound and musicianship, there is a surprising breadth of style. Sure, the album kicks off with an almost punk barrage of primal rage on first song proper Suurtuhovalkean nostatus and continues in that vein with second track Hymni epäinhimillisyydelle. However, after an ambient interlude called Loputon talvi, on Veremme velvollisuudestasi vapauttaa Geatkihaukr slow down and introduce a far more somber, melancholic lead riff. The influence of Finnish black metal can be heard here, though the sound remains extremely raw.

At other times, one can even hear faint nods towards the bestial black metal of Blasphemy and early Beherit, especially in the insane solos. And in the violent vocals: a throat tearing rasp that gives little regard to perfect timing or arrangement, instead favouring fervour and undiluted fierceness of delivery. But, rather than purely musically, I sense this kinship to bestial black metal in the essential primitivity and rabid hostility imbued in every inch of Varjaeger’s music.

Varjaeger certainly isn’t for everyone. It’s much too raw, much too crude, much too hostile to be that. From the bare bones sound to the violent, primitive musicianship to the over-arching hostility of attitude, Varjaeger will alienate many people. And that’s fine. Music like this doesn’t need to have a broad appeal.

Because, undeniably, not beneath but imbued deep within all the crudity, all the primitivity, all the hostility, is the core spirit of black metal. Not as music for the masses, not as something sophisticated and refined; but as something atavistic, primordial and ancient. It’s the taste for blood, the lust for violence, the flame of destruction that emanates from the visceral shadowside that modernity tries to deny.

Music like this shouldn’t be easy listening for everyone. But for the minority who feel the allure of such music, of the beast within, Varjaeger can definitely be recommended.

Visit Geatkihaukr on Bandcamp