Arcana Dei I - Pimeyden valo

Cosmic Church’s EP titled “Arcana Dei I – Pimeyden Valo” consists of four tracks of raw, atmospheric but occasionally quite ferocious black metal, with a rather unique riffing style (yet in a stylistic framework peculiar to contemporary Finnish black metal). The main selling point of this EP is the enthralling, melancholy atmosphere, although there are instances of mind-blowing riffing aswell, like in “Auringonlaskun Rukous”.

The album’s subtitle, Pimeyden Valo, translates to “The Light of Darkness”. While this dichotomy might seem cliché, it’s often oddly appropriate in black metal. Many Finnish bands, in particular, have come to appreciate a certain balance of darkness and light in their music. Without the light, the darkness in comparison does not attract, and without the darkness, there is no edge or gravity to the music. At best, the riffing here expresses a combination of darkness and light, often entangled in extremely wistful, even painfully melancholic feelings. There is considerable beauty in the wistful andantes of “Torni (Osa II)”, and the aggressive melancholy of “Auringonlaskun Rukous” is instantly gripping.

The sound is indeed raw. The guitars are like distant voices, utterly without sharpness, and with clarity only in the higher registers. The blunt, dull and slightly tooting sound of the guitars gives some unexpected power of expression to the sorrowful riffing. There is a certain brass instrument esque quality to the tone, even, which lends certain distant majesty to the music despite the poorness of sound quality. The drumming is distorted and noisy, and the screams are dry and tortured, but nothing about this album sounds abrasive to the ears (of a black metal fan). It’s a very mellow listening experience, and while it occasionally bursts into reckless aggression and hatred, the majority of the music is reflective, calm even, and the riffing is crafted with welcomingly melodic tonality.

“Pimeyden Valo” is possibly the best of the three “Arcana Dei” EPs, although it terms of sound it’s the most primitive by a margin. It sounds the most inspired of the three, and the riffing is the most successful in conjuring sorrowful, longing atmospheres, with enough hints of hopefulness in them to make for brilliantly emotionally gripping black metal. Each of the four songs is more sorrowful than the one before it, culminating in the closer “Salama Hiljaisuudessa”. The EP is unfortunately only four songs long, as it really leaves you wanting more. Luckily there are two more “Arcana Dei” EPs besides this, as well as the excellent full-length “Absoluutin Lävistämä”.