First off, great title, now how do you live up to it, and why has it not been used before? Who is Chthonian? Finntroll vocalist Matias Lillmans’ previous band, which he is still in, of course. What else is Chthonian? Three talented guys playing black metal the way they wanted it to sound, and that […]

Replacing all but the rhythm section might spell disaster for any band, especially a symphonic one. Finland’s Alghazanth has weathered more than its share of lineup changes and they take this one in stride as well. When a new Alghazanth disc comes out it is a safe bet as to the style and tone. Slow […]

Finland has long been a hotbed for intensely melodic metal. Take the addictive, neoclassical thrash of (earlier) Children of Bodom, the overripe pomp of Nightwish or the thrilling Viking blare of Moonsorrow – all lush, atmospheric and stylish as hell. And that’s not even touching wackadoo black metal like …And Oceans or the classic, always-evolving […]

We all know that death metal isn’t exactly a forte of the Finns, but here is Finnish black/death metal supergroup of sorts, named after a desert in South America and featuring current and ex members of Funeris Nocturnum, Swallow the Sun, Machine Men and Sotajumala. And its pretty fucking good. With this group of band […]

This is Horna, no compromise black metal from Finland, no trends past or present, the Motorhead of black metal. Ignore all trends and be true to your origins is Shatraug’s motto and, like Motorhead, their songs are not as simple as people think. They can masterfully craft simple song structures that are more complex than […]

While most of Finland is obsessed with trolls and tooth harps, only a handful of Finnish acts have veered into more brutal territory, Scent of Flesh being the only recent band that immediately springs to mind above and beyond older acts like Disgrace and early manifestations of Amorphis and Sentenced. Until now. Enter Sotajumala (Finnish […]

Many will find Finland’s Alghazanth hard not to compare to Dimmu Borgir. Alghazanth formed late in 1995 and, after more than their share of line-up changes, finally released their debut in late 1999. This is their third full-length in little more than two years, – quite prolific for a band plagued by line-up changes, which […]

Finland’s Trollheim’s Grott formed in 1997. When I first encountered them they had just released what I believe to be their debut full-length, Kalt Trist Sorg Och DoD. They were a promising viking metal band, with emotional vocals rendered in grim and clean vocal styles. The musicianship was good, not great, but the long songs […]

The legendary Horna is back with a vengeance, and even better, back on cd. After releasing seven vinyl only recordings as limited edition 7 inches, they have signed to Woodcut Records and now those of you not into spending money on split seven inches to get a few songs from Horna and a few from […]