The 2020 solo debut, Verisaarna, from Hex Inferi ( ex Horna), was a blistering, icy cold blast of classic black metal in the Marduk-ian realm of relentlessness, with some innate Finnish nastiness thrown in. And while Kataklysmi is not quite as palpably frosty, it delivers much of the same frozen swathes of black metal, maybe even with a slightly increased sense of restraint and subtle atmospheric development.

Hex Inferi, as with the debut brings a sense of pure viciousness to his vocals, and they are immediately on display for the ferocious opener “Hävityksen ensimmäinen askel”. But he also shows some slight experimentation here and there, which carries over to the music as well.

The title track is where we see the slight sense of development from the debut with a ‘twistier’ sense of riffage, some subtle background keyboards, some time changes, and an extended mid-paced, mid-song break. The same sort of experimentation is heard in the varied menace of “Eläköön sota ihmisten kesken”, and starts lengthy 6th track” Helvetin esitaistelija”, a surprisingly slow-burning, atmospheric number.

But fret not, on the back end of the album, there is still plenty of absolutely slicing black metal, that will peel skin with “Saatanallinen hävitystaistelu”, “Laulakaa tulesta, laulakaa liekeistä” and “Outo kuningas” which starts with a cool little haughty march and features some unhinged female choral bits and last half of closer “Lopunajan abominaatiot”.

Hex Inferi has done exactly what you should do on a second album, especially a solo project, which can get too singular-minded. He’s branched out just a bit, but still kept the core sound and released yet another scorching, vitriolic modern black metal album and looks to be on his way to being the Finnish Arioch/Funeral Mist if he keeps it up.

[Visit the band's website]

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