Rodentlord

The age of purism seems to be over. Many bands blur genre boundaries in their sound and Rodent Epoch are no exception. The formation hails -surprise, surprise – hails from Finland and mixes black metal with casual, punk-affine riffs and distorted vocals. Already the opener “High on Hades” reveals a lot of verve and drive, but “Rodentlord” is not dedicated to the Gods of high velocity. Songs like “Cult of Mission” revitalize the aura of some Darkthrone tunes (roughly “Total Death” times) and do not forget to deliver the proper sickness factor of young Fenriz. One wades through thick guitar lines that seek their salvation in mid-tempo. This dominating component is accompanied by a manic roar and rather unpredictable, relatively anarchic breaks throw the song from A to B and back again. Sometimes the singer seems to think he has important things to announce (which is a mistake) and then he raises his voice, also in this respect a bit on the tracks of Darkthrone. Then he tries to sing clearly; a dubious undertaking.

I hope it has already become evident that Rodent Epoch cannot be confused with the typical Finnish black metal representatives. To say that they sound unique would surely take it a step to far. But despite their borrowings from Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, they have found their own niche. This is inter alia because of the fact that the dudes present a certain degree of variety. The overlong “Red Heavens” follows a more or less completely different approach than the opener, to give but one example. Okay, this song holds some Darkthrone-inspired riffs, too, but also almost depressive guitar lines. Anyway, it gains successively in intensity and justifies its opulent length - that’s no matter of course, right? Speaking of very long tracks, I may not forget the “Funeral Master”, because the eponymous closer is dedicated to him and boasts with a playtime of nearly ten minutes. Already the swirling guitars at the beginning make you want more and fortunately you are not disappointed by this uncouth hate monger.

The mix is dense and brute. It spreads violent vibes and in its most reckless moments an aura of terror. Music academics should stay away! The rest enjoys the surprisingly smoothly flowing riff of the title track, the hammering of “Twisted Covenant” or… well, whatever they want. You cannot do much wrong on this album as long as you like it dirty, brutal and – more often than you might think – catchy. Thus, enjoy “Rodentlord”, if you are interested in discovering another, rather rare flavour from the global epicentre of black metal. We are probably not on the threshold of the epoch of rodents, but good songs from the underground are always welcome.