Traveler of the Untouched Voids

Following their debut album, Finnish black metallers Mørketida are back with a new mini-album of majestic extremism.

Dungeon synth style ambience drops us into the mystical mini record with riveting guitars soon ferocious adding a bleak and haunting aggression to the gorgeous keys. The crashing of cymbals and pounding drums back up the cascade of excellent riffs while the vocals give a very traditional and gritty performance of morbid snarls. Immediately the old school vibrancy of 90s black metal is pretty strong with some amazing musicianship delivering an extremely enticing display of pure malevolent and medieval brilliance.

With a clear blend of stripped back black metal at the heart of the music but coupled with dungeon synth, this is the kind of ambient black metal that is still abrasive and intense while offering melody and haunting soundscapes, never sacrificing the extremity at the heart of the sound. A rich and hypnotic conjuration of eerie musical prowess is utilised over the four tracks to make an immersive and deeply chilling experience with some dissonant edge and groove that really hits hard. These discordant blows are definitely accentuated by being placed among more meditative and peaceful sections, ripping through any idea of relaxation with unhinged riffs and hammering drums.

Although this release is only a little over twenty minutes in running time, these four pieces of monolithically ambient and spectral black metal will certainly leave you yearning for more from these Finnish masters of atmospheric excellence. A magnificent journey with so many ruthless and ritualistic sounds that transcend each other to make for a deeply mesmerising record of mighty and glorious proportions. This is a near-perfect blend of twisted, aggressive and convulsively vicious black metal with stunning melodies and rich ambience that makes for a both beautiful and hideously disdainful listen.

As per usual the Finnish have delivered an almost flawless album, showing that they seemingly have mastered the black metal arts. Do not miss out on this gorgeously violent and yet tranquil medley of monstrous new tracks from Mørketida, they certainly are wondrous pieces indeed.

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com