ABSOLUTE KEY: Lauluja laaksoista Release year: 2023Label: Tampereen levyt My issue with music and artists labelled as “experimental” is that if the artist has an established sound, is it experimental anymore? Take for example various artists within post-industrial music: from … Continue reading Songs from the valleys of Nangijala
NIGHTSIDE: Lions Release year: 2023Label: Purity Through Fire Finnish Nightside released a small body of material in the late 90’s and early noughties, the majority of which was compiled on the album-slash-compilation The End Of Christianity (reviewed here), and then … Continue reading New emanations from the nightside
PATIENT OMEGA: Broken Mind In A Rotting Body Release year: 2023Label: Misantropia Records I touched upon the issues relating to the thematics of instrumental music in my review of L’Ègarement D’Esprit’s album Written In Stone (here). I find myself returning … Continue reading Patient Omega’s broken minds and rotten bodies
MOON ORACLE: Ophidian Glare Release year: 2023Label: Bestial Burst/Signal Rex Two years after their debut album, Finnish trio Moon Oracle are back with another helping of mystical, doom-ladened black metal. Whilst some things have changed, the core essence of traditional … Continue reading Serpentine stare of the moon oracle
MOON ORACLE: Muse Of The Nightside Release year: 2021Label: Bestial Burst/Signal Rex Considering how black metal is supposed to be individualist music, where conformity, adhering to trends and following leaders blindly are tantamount to mortal sin, it’s almost funny how … Continue reading Nightside oracles
UNOHDUS: Niin turhaan tähdet valaisivat meitä Release year: 2023Label: self-released Newcomer Unohdus is – apparently- a one-man project from Finland, who describe their style as a mixture of depressive black metal and atmospheric metal. Well, nails and heads right there, … Continue reading Oblivion under the vain light of stars
WAELTAJA: Heremite Release year: 2023Label: Misantropia Records Dungeon synth. Now there’s a genre so easy to hate it’s almost ridiculous. It’s kind of like the goofy, nerdy cousin of black metal, taking all the silliest and nerdiest elements from it … Continue reading Wanderers and hermits
DE LA ROCKA: Out Of This World Release year: 2023Label: Bad Billy Records Finnish psychobilly trio Graveyard Bashers were in my not-too-modest opinion one of the best new bands in the genre in years and years. With their extremely raw … Continue reading Psycho outta this world
PYHÄ KUOLEMA: Saavun vaikken kulkisi Release year: 2011/2022Label: Anima Arctica Back in 2021, I gave a somewhat raving and ranting review to Finnish neofolk act Pyhä Kuolema’s third album Uusi panssaroitu Suomi (click here to read). And you know what? … Continue reading Arriving even without moving
KAARNA: Kultataivaat, hopeaveet, unet helmiäistä Release year: 2022Label: Anima Arctica The eccentric and ever-shifting Kaarna have had a pretty steady release schedule. Since the one-man project’s debut album Comitatus Savolaxiae in 2019, the steady pace has been one album per … Continue reading Kaarna’s reveries under golden skies
Only Death Is Real 