YRR "Sokeiden Valtakunta" allover printed cassette

Thorgaunt - Drums
YRR - The rest

4/4 allover printed cassette
1/1 6 panel J-card
Clear case with two stickers
Released by Korpituli productions and limited to 70 copies!!

YRR is a new name in the Finnish Black Metal underground whose journey started in 2022 with a demo followed by their debut EP "Sokeiden Valtakunta" which is a grand mixture of vibes from the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish scools of Black Metal combining those into an aggressive yet atmospheric piece of Finnish Black Metal. One of my personal favourites of all 2022 releases and now for the first time on Cassette Tape format!!

A new project, YRR plays melodic old school Scandinavian BM, which isn't surprising given that the band's two members YRR and Thorsgaunt have been active in the BM scene in Laitila, in the Southwest Finland region, for at least the past twenty years. "Sokeiden Valtakunta" ("Kingdom of the Blind") is YRR's second recording and first EP. The music here is very polished, in the style of 1990s-era second generation BM, with an emphasis on songs that feature strong catchy melodies, tight structures, precise playing and dramatic instrumental flourishes.
The title track tosses listeners unmercifully deep into the YRR universe: surging guitar riffs with grinding chainsaw tones dominate the music, the percussion providing able and solid support, and synthesisers in the background adding another (and strongly contrasting) layer of texture and mood. YRR's harsh rasping vocals are aggressive though their full emotional expression sounds more muffled than distorted and he has to compete with the sharp piercing guitar sounds and the sighing synthesiser tone washes. "Varjon temppeli" ("Shadow temple") continues in similar manner with even more clearly defined tremolo guitar melodies and powerful bass riffs, YRR growling or barking out the lyrics, and the song culminating in a highly melodramatic and epic mood.
We keep going with punchy songs that are usually fairly short – only two of the six songs on offer go beyond five minutes – but which pack in plenty of spiky, jagged riffs performed with zeal, energy and attention to detail and precision. Even when the music is at its most dense and chaotic, as in "Noidankehä" ("Vicious Circle"), it holds together well with the energy and aggression channelled into clear melodic paths. On all songs, the music serves the lyrics so it is unfortunate that YRR's singing is often overpowered by the music in its fury and high emotional drama.
All too soon the EP ends – the final track 'Heille Jotka Näkevät" ("For those who see") seems too frantic and hurried even for a short recording with short(ish) songs – and we're left with an impression of a recording cramming in songs that might need double the EP's playing time to develop fully. Some tracks are almost ridiculously too fast and too efficient in delivering their message and then disappearing abruptly so the next song can blast into view and go just as quickly. Whatever instrumental passages exist are usually very good, with raw blistering guitars and smooth synthesiser working surprisingly well in harmony, but are also often too short.
This is energetic and coldly brutal music that demonstrates there's plenty of life and aggression yet in Finnish old school BM. At the level YRR seem to be working, with music that is well presented, robust and full of energy, any new releases the band has in store are well worth looking out for if you are keen on melodic raw BM the way it used to be done – no fancy effects or experimentation, just straight-out pure raw and savage aggression.

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