So the band name means Sacrificial Cross and the album title Cold Grave; ten out of ten if you have recognised that this band are Finnish from this (unless you are Finnish of course). Yes this is a pretty frosty listen but not one as filthy or quite as orthodox as many of their countrymen who play black metal but don’t let that put you off in the slightest as it’s still a potent brew and one that’s certainly grown on me over a few listens. It follows up 2013 album Haudankylmä so obviously the band are working fairly quickly on material and striking with their self-proclaimed war on all religions presented in a form of ‘Finnish singing black metal.’
Language and message aside after a piano piece and a sudden rise in volume (that’s had me scrambling to turn it down and not blow up my speakers several times) it’s obvious that the scorn and venom in vocalist Rutto’s delivery speaks clearly in whatever language. It’s fast and furious with a real driving pace musically and the jagged riffs have got a great and memorable melody behind them. It’s jubilant and swaggering and really in the face as the strident vocals yap away at the higher more shrill range of things. There’s simply no avoiding their venomous bite and although at first they took me by surprise after getting accustomed they do really suit the style well and add to the frantic pell-mell pace of things. Some empirical keyboards charge in towards the end of the first number too and as things progress they become more apparent although not overstated in the mix. Having got its talons in ‘Routahauta’ spreads the icy flow in a slightly slower style, more mid-paced but just as angry as far as the vocals, which in that great Finnish sense seem to naturally be rolling off the tongue of the singer. Musically it’s just as rich an affair with a mid-section break with really thorny guitar parts and some keys that remind of early Dimmu Borgir, and Emperor. A bell tolls and a sense of doom is very much installed before this one finishes and the title track ebbs in and then speeds off like the hounds of hell are snapping at its heels. This is a highly charged and gloriously madcap dash of a song and really steams away making you want to slam fists and bang head along with its enthusiastic zeal. It’s not all one dimensional though as it has some slower brooding parts and even some lower gruff vocals to it.
A cold and gorgeous piano sonata leading into the next track Kaamokseen, quite suitable as the title translates as ‘The Polar Night’. There is a real sense of dynamics here and melody is at the forefront, richly sparkling within the music, there’s a lot of early Old Man’s Child to this one and it talks me back to the particular period of time I was eagerly grabbing them and the aforementioned bands newly discovered early albums. A track seemingly translated as ‘Sin Psalm’ meshes everything together and is a real snarly hatefest that romps along and bites and snarls away with the best of them. It’s probably the stand out track and really grabs your attention the crunching symphonic embellishments are great. By now with the feudal and beastly pillaging number ‘Rukous Kuolevan’ it’s like having been thrown into a snowy medieval battle. I don’t want to mention certain popular shows but you can picture it yourself. One thing’s clear if you are with this horde the battle is more than half won and you are destined to be on the winning side. Apparently the last number Verjvala is a cover of a song by Verjnuarmu and as far as I am concerned being unfamiliar with them too and on the strength of this, that’s two new discoveries for the price of one.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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