Artist: Horna
Title: Musta Kaipuu
Type: Album
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
What yet more Horna? Well it’s a good thing, so I’m not complaining at their prolific releasing schedule. This is another one from the crypts, unearthed necrotic treasures that have been buried since 2004 and are best served at well below room temperature. You will get the best effect from these 10 anti-hymns if you can see your breath in the air and are entombed, knowing that oxygen is likely to expire at the end of this hour long listening experience. These are presented on CD for the very first time and are from the "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne" recording sessions, decomposed by the line up of Shatraug, Corvus, Sargofagian and Ravenum.
‘Piina’ at first strikes as an exercise in garage punk, it’s got a timeless feel about it and despite the primitive recording it is well suited and sounds great. Simple groove laden instrumentation whiplashes around Corvus gargled vocals and it is a tumult that is surprisingly accessible, hell you could even comfortably play air guitar along to this. Don’t let that put you off though it still retains that crusty coating of Finnish filth. This is quite a versatile disc too, there are plenty of different musical ideas and entities displayed and explored and this certainly is not an album with everything sounding the same. Second track ‘Haudanvarjo’ really ups the ante with drumming faster, howls more bestial and a much blacker torrent about it. The accessible punk laden sound has been swiped away by a feral clamour. ‘Unohdetut Kasvot, Unohdettu Ääni’ is from the split 2005 7” with Tenebrae In Perpetuum and it was a track I recognised straight off. It’s a classic with an ever driving pace and a melody that really hooks you in, the fact that it sounds like a band just jamming away adds to the natural feel of it. The pagan sort of edge to the guitars here is actually beautiful (not a word I would expect to use to describe Horna) and are very reminiscent of the Ukrainian might of Drudkh.
Most surprising here is ‘Oi Kallis Kotimaa’ that I would put money on being a traditional Finnish drinking song. It sounds like a bunch of minstrels around a campfire high on home made spirits and if it were not for the loud guitars it would be a folk song through and through. Looking at their back catalogue I see it is credited as traditional from when it appeared on Vuohipaimen 7"EP. The chances of you owning these original pressings which were limited edition is pretty damn remote unless you are a collector with limitless funds or close friends of the band so I am sure this collection is going to be an essential purchase for many. One complaint is the abrupt end to ‘Pohjanportti’ it just stops and sounds wrong, perhaps someone hit one of the band with an axe or something, no doubt there may be an interesting story explaining this. But that is not really a justified grievance as this is great stuff and pretty much a legacy as far as Finnish black metal is concerned. Sure there will be more from Horna in the very near future too.
http://www.legion-horna.com
Pete Woods
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