This Finnish band has been around for about a decade and previously released only one full length but a raft of EPs and demos, eight and two respectively, as the duo of Yonülf and Fogg play all the instruments on this second album comprising four tracks of stripped raw black metal. There is an inherent inhumanity on this album, its glacial atmosphere crafted from the riffs and desolate despondency and harsh violence. Also the songs increase in duration exponentially with the opener of two minutes acting like an intro with primal riffing similar to early 90s black metal before the six minutes of ‘Pagan Ghoul Warrior’.
With the longer duration we get a more involved composition of course as the song produces a dread like aura, epic in tone and similar to latter era Immortal as the tempo deviations ensure momentum is retained and keeps you on your toes, especially with the blast beat infusions. At 14 minutes ‘Askplaneten’ sees the duo push the envelope further, slowing things down hugely for a song saturated in morosity but also dripping with malevolent horror as the track unfurls an avant-garde posture at various junctures. The constant twisting, contorting and meandering make the song extremely interesting, you never know where it is leading as the rawness of the guitar sound will have you thinking about Hellhammer or very early Celtic Frost as the duo really like to spin the songs on a variety of riff changes and hooks to keep things energised, something I really appreciated.
The final track, ‘Dusk Boreal’, clocks near to the 21 minutes barrier, one second shy of actually, and sends you down raw black metal realms, but is balanced by plenty of melody and those riff changes I’ve already mentioned. A song of this length means you either get a ton of changes or phases that are prolonged and elongated for maximum impact. Vonülfsrëich have decided to amalgamate both, with fluidised changes marrying up with the elongated focused pieces creating a mesmerising aura as each minute passes by, linking in acoustic phrasing with cymbal adornments as the Hellhammer and Celtic Frost riffing rears up again. Occasionally you know a change is coming, you can feel it in the toning or the way the song is building but when it comes it always works as the songs 90s atmospheric black metal ethos is something those that yearn for that era will fully appreciate, as I did as the song enters a fade out in the last five minutes or so, filtering in some backing noises that take the song to its conclusion, and if I’m honest I would have preferred the song to end with more of what had preceded it, but I understand what the duo is trying to do as a climax to the album.
A very interesting album from Vonülfsrëich, one steeped in 90s black metal nostalgia but crafted from a modern guile on four nuanced compositions.
(8.5/10 Martin Harris)
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