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After a string of self-released EP's, demos and compilations, all on tape, Razed Soul Recordings finally treats us to a CD release by Finnish black metallers Hämys. The band plays an undeniably Finnish flavor of black metal, favoring melodic, prideful hymns with a strong mind paid to catchy riffing. Without a doubt influenced by scene giants such as Horna and Sargeist (especially the latter), the band does a commendable job with one of my favorite flavors of black metal.

Recording as a trio, the band lacks a bass player but manages to use this to their advantage. While the drums bash out simple, punky midpaced beats, there's room for both guitars to really shine. None of the riffs even approach what you'd call complex, but the band has a strong grasp of how to use two guitars in unison to great effect, with simple harmonies and counter-melodies working to create memorable guitar lines one after another, or one guitar taking lead while the other marches on with backing chords. One guitar is generally mixed “further away” and with heavier distortion, filling in the mix, while the other is a little more forward in the mix and not so heavily overdriven, giving a nice contrast. The guitar interplay is captivating enough and the mix full enough that the lack of bass isn't really a detracting factor.

Bookended by familiar-sounding intro and outro tracks (with a bit of reverb-y guitars, campfire sounds and owl hoots), the five real songs showcase a band that has grown up on a steady diet of fist-pumping Finnish black metal, full of emotion and romance but with a a steady backbone resting on punkish drumming and simple riff progressions that tap directly into your reptile brain. Waltz time is used to great effect in many key areas throughout the songs here, a technique I've long appreciated as being some sort of magical recipe for success when it comes to stirring up raw emotion. Blast beats always come in at just the right time, being active participants in crescendo rather than setting the pace for entire songs.

The harsh vocals utilized on this EP get a pretty rough recording job, with some echo giving them some extra bite. Sometimes they're a little more gruff with shorter syllables, other times they're slightly more dramatic, but they're performed quite well throughout and occupy a good space in the mix. There are also some multi-tracked clean vocals used here and there (“Haurauden Juuret” and “Unieni Takaa”) that have a nice, rich tone that works well with the generally somber-yet-hopeful atmosphere that's one of the Finnish black metal sound's hallmarks.

While I really quite enjoy everything about this little EP, I can't shake the feeling that this is a band still finding itself. All of the songs here are quite short, with the longest clocking in at four and half minutes but the average being a bit closer to five, with just a handful of riffs in each song. However, the band really knows how to effectively layer guitars and transition from one riff to the next in a way that makes for very cohesive songwriting. Tracks like the wonderful but all-too-brief title song serve to show that the band has their aesthetic down to a science. Here's to hoping that they manage to take this approach and run with it, as I'd love to hear the band stretch its legs over a longer running time with longer track lengths. This is an act to watch, hopefully with a truly masterful full-length on the horizon that will show off their true potential. This EP is a neat little gem in any case and is highly recommended to fans of the style.