Album title translates to English to “A Song About Death”.
‘Laulu Kuolemasta’ is the latest LP from Finnish black metallers Forgjord. I guess the important thing to note is how this album takes us back to black metal’s first principles – the four-track tape recorder mix, the tinny guitars, flat drums, high pitched goblinoid vocals – whilst also actually containing some music. Too many bands that purport to go back to the true roots of this genre offer a highly aesthetic sound that ticks all those necro boxes, but apparently forgets to write music of worth to actually prop up these empty statements. And that’s one of the reasons ‘Laulu Kuolemasta’ is such a breath of fresh, icy air.
The lo-fi production, the thin guitars with way too much reverb, the screeching vocals buried beneath yet more reverb, drums that might as well be dustbin lids; all these things that were initially associated with black metal were a reaction to the over polished world of death metal. But after this people quickly realised the creative potential of some these elements. If used correctly they can provide a unique atmosphere to black metal’s soaring, epic approach to riffcraft. It can do strange things to music, creating truly otherworldly sounds; and yes, it is truly isolating and solitary music that sounds not of the modern world, despite being crafted from modern technology of sorts.
On ‘Laula Kuolemasta’, we have an album that transcends gimmick into a refreshing and surprisingly diverse piece of obscure black metal. The first thing to note is their approach to melodic progression, which runs throughout the entire album, with longform compositions constructed of chord sequences whose true meaning is revealed over the course of the album. They are worked through slow, meandering intros, to gradual builds, before the music kicks off into full blast-beat territory and a finale of sorts is reached. And this natural talent for this style of composition is aided not hampered by the grainy mix.
But Forgjord don’t limit themselves to meat ‘n’ potatoes black metal alone. There’s plenty of acoustic interludes and brief ambient passages that break up the static. Many of the riffs are so engaging and varied in their own right that I could easily do without these non-metal passages. But they are pleasing enough all the same, and follow on from the same musical ideas that the metal tracks follow, emphasising thematic unity. It’s worth pointing out, because this album offers such a broad emotional range rarely found in black metal, let alone the ultra lo-fi version kind Forgjord are operating in. From the darkly atmospheric, to sweepingly epic to the point of euphoria, to mournful, to aggression and genuinely haunting. It’s an accomplished work of highly aesthetic yet fully fleshed out black metal that has many secrets to reveal.
Sample:
youtube.com/watch?v=bqFGLQ4UtQ4&list=RDbqFGLQ4UtQ4&start_radio=1
