A CD arrived of this, always nice when that happens, and from the stark and somewhat primitive cover and an origin of Finland I was expecting the music to be somewhat savage. Opener ‘Riimunviiltäjät’ is certainly raw and with a heavy slow pace to it. An echoing riff teeters on the edge of an almost sludge sound as the vocals gurgle and rasp but when the pace picks up a little it’s just a fine, primitive punkish black metal riff bulldozing on with no cares or concerns. Definitely not one for the faint of heart or the casual listener it works as a great opener. ‘A View To The Lunatic Lands’ again has that almost sludge like avalanche riff style but wired into a lo-fi sound that also echoes primordial death metal. And then the speed rips up and we are full tilt into rabid, primitive black metal. The sound is muddy, the atmosphere pitch black and feral. Yeah I’m beginning to like this. It is primitive for sure, lo-fi, completely lacking in subtlety and that’s just how it wants to be.

‘Kannibaalimetsän lahko’ has a fine chug of a riff and that punk-metal attack to it. The drumming is utterly relentless. The vocals weird, especially when something approaching a clean cry rises up. ‘Where The Goat Shall Torment Thee…’ has an old Celtic Frost/Hellhammer vibe; sparse skeletal sound but a damned undeniable…well not groove but it certainly got its claws into me. ‘Lake Draganos’ has a very atmospheric guitar intro, atmospheric despite the raw sound and style that is suddenly buried under a speedy riff that just gets faster as the vocals kick in. ‘Brave New Species’ is flat out weird for me; the punk riff that predominates has, if you listen carefully, a melodic hook to it and somehow the vocals here just add to the punk feeling despite the slow, murderous speed.

‘Fever Dreams Of Limsio’ is about as basic as you can get. Repetitive skeletal riff, hammering drums with a downtuned downturn, an absolutely ripping and squealing guitar break. And it’s an instrumental. And it works. Somehow.

‘Several Moons Ago’ introduces clean vocals. I mean wtf? And again it works. The primordial riffing and sound and the pretty darned excellent tone to the vocals weaves a strange spell indeed but an irresistible one. And finally ‘Kvenskald’s Dawn’ gives us the gentle sounds of birds, perhaps a little farm work or something, gentle sounds of tools or some such and… no, that’s it. A curious ending to a curious album.

Have to say it really works for me. You have to accept the lo-fi primitivism for sure, the way the riffs sidle up to sludge here and there and never stray far from black metal punk. But it really just works if that is your thing (and it’s certainly mine). Not the most complex music, not the most hook laden or melodic. But it has its won atmosphere by the barrel load and is pretty much executed to perfection and the weird touches just jolt you enough to make you think, too.

Yeah, definitely one for fans of deceptively thoughtful raw and primitive black metal. Guess I better look up the rest of their stuff.

(8/10 Gizmo)

https://www.facebook.com/people/Vonülfsrëich/100063680735156

https://fallentemple.bandcamp.com/album/kvensg-ldr