Sorni Nai

This is my second encounter with Kauan, after first hearing their superb contribution to the compilation album Der Wanderer Uber Dem Nebelmeer, published by Pest records. If people are not familiar with this record then I urge them to check it out. It's a compilation album where various artists were contacted and asked to make a piece of music inspired by the masterful painting, "The Wanderer Over The Sea Of Fog" by Casper David Friedrich.

I remember being struck then by Kauans clarity of vision and atmosphere and I can say that this second encounter with the band genuinely blew me away.

This album is one of stunning vision and atmosphere, utilizing all of the post black metal tropes used by the likes of Moonsorrow and Wolves In The Throne Room. While sonically similar to other bands at surface level, this album is far more than a post-black metal album. Inspired by the mysterious Dyatlov Pass incident, Sorni Nai is a superb blend of black metal, post-rock, classical, and orchestral music.

It evokes a deep melancholy and mystery, due I'm sure to the fact that it is sung entirely in Finnish. The clean vocals, both male and female, are incredibly powerful and clear and can stir deep parts of the soul, evoking more through tone than words.

The album uses a form of leitmotif or recurring theme which crops up frequently throughout the album at just the right time to bring the music back to the center. By the end of the record, this leitmotif has warped and become far darker, reflecting the grizzly fate of the unfortunate skiers. Not for a long time has an album demanded that I listen to it from start to finish with ne'er a wee break in between. This is such an album. Listen to it, you will not regret it.