The Path of Ayin

The Path of Ayin is the Kabbalistic path known for accessing the visionary eye of the soul and for expressing ones primal, animalistic tendencies. It is also the title of Finnish black metal project 359's latest offering, which dropped in mid-August through Schattenkult Produktionen. While I'm not sure if the band's name is influenced by the Council of Rimini or the start of the Roman's scorched earth policy (both which happened in the year 359), it's not really important. What does matter is that 359 offers some solid black metal, which follows in the grand traditions of Finnish black metal, yet tempered with a sense of reverent stoicism towards the second wave.

359 is the solo project of Sunken, who has played in a few Finnish black metal bands over the years. He formed the project in 2006 and released a three track demo in 2008. The follow up EP, The Path of Ayin, was released eight years later, and again features just three tracks. At only eighteen minutes, this latest offering is a short, yet surprisingly effective jaunt into the realms of Finnish black metal. The first track offers sweeping trem riffs and frenetic percussion, with a Fenriz-like adherence to focusing on hi-hat weaving, colliding with a rather cold and devoid second wave sound. This grandiose trem riffing breaks way for a more aggressive approach on the next two tracks, which often recalls the likes of Tsjuder, yet the simplistic yet primal drumming gives the sound a completely raw and rabid feel.

The songs offer a nice flow, but I find myself listening to the grandiose, sweeping styling of the opener far more than the following tracks. It's not that they're bad, because they aren't, it's just that the opener feels so much more complete and satisfying. Overall, though, it's actually quite refreshing to hear a band honoring the sound of classic black metal, even more so with this era's constant bombardment of chaotic, sonically dense black/death metal. The Path of Ayin offers a trem-driven sound, combining the nuanced melodies that the Finnish scene is known for with a harsher, cold rawness. While it's not entirely essential material, fans of Finnish black metal would do well to keep their eyes on this project.