Developing from the much respected, evolving and maturing home of the black arts, Finland, a new spawn is bestowed upon us. Moonlight Sorcery have stepped into the world and delivered to us their second EP since their inception back in 2018, Nightwind: The Conqueror From The Stars, and this one comes with some power.

‘Ancient Sword Of Hate’ is pummelling from the off, a beast of a track which picks you up within its ravenous jaws and shakes you to within an inch of your life. This is black metal at is most vitriolic, most vile and most bludgeoning whilst managing to keep an air of deliberate melody about it. The strings on the track create mesmerising solos which sit amongst all the violence, angst and vehement brutality with natural ease. The vocals from Ruttomieli are spat out with true venomous spite and seem to want to absolutely permeate your soul and rip it apart from the inside. The drums and bass deliver the muscle and pounding force on which the track is driven by, almost mechanical in their stature.

Track two, ‘Yotuulten Kutsu’, slows things down slightly and brings more of a technical and intricate edge to the proceedings. This however doesn’t dilute the vocals one iota and they are served to you with flare and a certain cabaret esque feeling about them. The track has more of a military stance about it, marching and commanding in its make-up, the drums being more top heavy on the cymbal work than previously seen on ‘Ancient Sword Of Hate’ and this spurs on the vocal efforts which then grow in stature as the track matures and develops. There is a definite feel-good vibe surrounding ‘Yotuulten Kutsu’ and again they inject a hypnotic solo into the body of the track towards the end which then catapults the track towards the finishing line with gusto and enthusiasm before it makes way for the penultimate offering, ‘Constellations’.

‘Constellations’ opens with a stand alone guitar segment before the rest of the army pour in to once again create a pummelling and battering base on which to deliver a fine example of technical black metal whilst keeping the malevolent and raw core at the essence of the track. ‘Constellations’ is an epic seven plus minutes of decadent and intricate musicianship and we are even carved open in the last half with a delicate and beautiful piano segment, striking and elegant in equal measures. The track is an instrumental, omitting the vocals which could have been deemed a risky avenue to go down, especially on a four-track release and especially from an extreme metal offering, but it works with expert precision and poise.

The whole package is rounded off with a raucous and vitriolic cover of ‘Black Moons Blood’, a classic from the 1994 demo from the Hellenic black metal legions Agatus, and one which is once again served with passion, power and muscle. The vocals are once again on board and the respite seems to have given them more purpose, they are literally spat out with venom and purpose throughout. The backing of the fretboards and sticks only seems to light the touch paper beneath the vocal contributions and propel them along with attitude and arrogance. The track is sub three minutes so doesn’t give the band the time they have previously been accustomed to on previous tracks but this works as it means that they have to just off load all of their wares in one short sharp shock rather than take their time to meticulously place their thoughts and skills with a purposeful edge as before.

This is a neatly packaged offering of differing haunts and sacrifices, ranging from the all out raw and nasty to the technical, atmospheric and decadent. Throw into that a battering and pummelling cover and you have a release which will surely light a fire under any extreme music lover it crosses its path with. I’d highly recommend you dip your toe into the Moonlight Sorcery world because you never know, it may well encourage you to dive in head first so that you can well and truly bathe in the beauty that is Nightwind: The Conqueror From The Stars.

(7/10 Phil Pountney)

https://www.facebook.com/moonlight.sorcery

https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/nightwind-the-conqueror-from-the-stars