Thus Darkness Spake

I reckon it was only a matter of time before bands in other scenes started incorporating influences from the mighty Mgła. Seven years since the release of the previous Teloch album has given the Finnish veterans plenty of time to develop their sound, and the band has wisely opted to largely leave behind the icy Norwegian sounding twin tremolo workouts in favor of a blend of classic FInnish moody melodicism with the dark melody-driven sound of Poland's black metal heroes. Gone are the ugly, formless chords and wretched discomfort of the Teloch of old, replaced with a steady groove and chord-driven riffs that act as a foundation upon which the lead guitar can ruminate.

There's also an increased bass presence, perhaps also a purposeful emulation of one of Mgła's noted strengths, but perhaps simply the result of having BRF on bass, a man who is no stranger to the idea of using powerful, driving bass guitar to help drive downtrodden and dismal black metal. The riffing style here and drumming are a bit less flashy than on the recent Mgła outings, though, instead going for a sound more akin to the earlier material such as Mdłości/Further Down the Nest and Groza. Vocalist Odium has also changed his delivery a bit to more closely resemble M from Mgła, utilizing a commanding rasp-shout, sometimes careening into a full-throated bellow that loses some of its alien black metal rasping tone to take on a more clear, human character, that sounds like the general of a vast army, barking orders to the legions of darkness.

That's not to say that Teloch has hung up their sense of national pride on the coat hooks outside the sauna, oh no. This is far from being simply empty Mgła worship, as the dour melodies still carry a noticeably Finnish sense of that oh-so-difficult-to-describe triumph in despair that permeates the national musical ethos. I actually get a huge kick out of bands that do similar things, sort of like how Sweden's Murder Squad attempt to just utterly ape Autopsy but can't help but inject some unmistakably Stockholm buzzsaw death metal into their attempt, making in their own. Same thing here, plus it's not like Mgła were such a far cry from Teloch's original style that there's any sense of disingenuineness or tastelessness about this. On the contrary, the influence, strong as it may be, is quite a welcome addition to a band I always liked but thought were something of an uninteresting addition to the Finnblack rogues gallery when compared to more inspired-sounding contemporaries like Blood Red Fog, Verge, Virvatulet or Cosmic Church.

So, largely gone is the forgettable blasting and norsecore-ish tremolo, replaced with rolling double bass and dark romantic melodies. It hasn't disappeared completely, though; take the meandering center-album track "Ascending Thrones and Stars," which features extended blasting sections with somewhat indecipherable riffs rendered even moreso by the somewhat muddy, distant production. Parts like that are easily glossed over for the more favorable newer-style material, which fortunately takes up the bulk of the album's duration. It's established that they've got the modus operandi down, but how are the results of this stylistic shift? Well, pretty good. Pretty...pretty..pretty good. I would probably be being dishonest if I told you that these guys came up with earworm melodies on the same level as the best stuff in the Finnish scene or, in deed, of Mgła themselves. They also aren't quite as good at doubling down on riffs for extended durations to achieve that magical hypnotic feeling that oozes out of the very pores of the best Mgła tracks. They get close, such as on the terrific "Stirring Fire," "Obliteration" or the huge closing track "Hymni tulelle" (though the long dark ambient section in the middle of that one doesn't work as well as it needs to), but other tracks fall a bit flat, such as the somewhat directionless title track that simply never seems to tap into the energy it needs to in order to really captivate (nor does it sap the energy from the listening in any sort of delightful way, as is often equally appealing). And when they do hit, I honestly can't say that they ever hit the same highs as Mgła themselves so often do, but then again it's a bit hard to slight a band for aiming for, but landing just shy of, that lofty mark.

Fans of Finnish black metal like myself will likely enjoy this, especially the moodier Blood Red Foggish sort, as the band has understandably moved a good bit further in that direction. I'd also heartily recommend this to Mgła fans looking for other bands working in the same general paradigm, though expectations should probably be tempered just a bit.