Metal Archives

A lengthy intro starts the album, to create an eerie atmosphere, much like a horror score. After a few minutes, you hear a bass line, then the drums, then the vocals come in at the perfect moment, overdubbed with high and low, as the guitar comes in. What a way to begin an album. This is raw, oldschool Black Metal, the way it is supposed to be. The guitar sound is reminiscent of Darkthrone’s Under A Funeral Moon and you can hear influences from that (and Gorgoroth’s Pentagram) on this album. In a way, this could be viewed as a tribute to the Norwegian bands.

Horna employ a variety of tempos here. The first song is really the highlight of the album, as the rest kind of passes by without much notice. Horna's sound is very similar to the early 90s Norwegian scene. If you are a fan of raw, melodic Black Metal then you must pick this up. There is not much that is unique, but it is a solid attempt. There is darkness, melancholy and evil…no meaningless garbage such as later Marduk or something. Fans of early 90s Scandinavian Black Metal, this one is calling your name from the shadows.

The one thing that really bothers me about this is the vocalist. Nazgul aka Satanic Tyrant Werwolf is one of the biggest posers in BM and looks far more comfortable playing guitar for his club-hopping cock rock band. This guy has made a career out of ripping off Bathory (Pest) and Darkthrone (Satanic Warmaster), while being very mediocre at best. Once I get past the presence of this laughable loser, the album is decent.

This album, in effect, is a journey to the abyss and back again. The album starts off with 'Orkkivuorilta' which contains a chilling and, to say the least, exciting 20-second intro of basically just wind. Then you're thrown into the belly of the beast; perfectly shrieked vocals and expert execution of simple riffs create the optimum atmosphere that makes you want to bang your head. 'Orkkivuorilta' changed speed from slower sections to slightly faster than to oblivion and in my opinion if you can do this without making the song extremely boring then it's a success. I've only seen a few bands pull this off; Horna, Tsjuder and Nargaroth; and when you compare it to the likes of Satyricon who are said masters of the genre but failed to keep 'Dominions of Satyricon' alive passed the minute mark, it just proves that Horna are clearly underrated. No other band has had so many consistent releases back to back than Horna and they are the true masters of black metal!

'Imperial Devastation' is very 'Desert Northern Hell' with Horna's edge which makes it epic within the first half-minute. A good strong follow-up to the best bm song of all time and not much else could have followed it in such grace. Through this song alone you can see that the album isn't just a bunch of beats and riffs thrown together with a few shrieks here and there to attempt at fame (like Mayhem's Deathcrush - absolute piss), but the band have clearly spent many a diadem perfecting every second of this album, so that each track flows perfectly from one to the next, which it does.

'Sormus Ja Silmä' is an outright epic and shows 1349 how to create a 13 minute track without it losing interest in the first couple of minutes. The opening riff is pure class and for once, you can hear a bass in a black metal song! PRAISE HORNA FOR THE WONDERFUL BASS! At around 5:30 the track changes into faster beats and Watain-like vocals and when 7:47 hits you know the track is worth 5 stars on your iTunes. Then comes the outro of the song and I’m suddenly thinking of clear influences from Satyricon's 'I En Svart Kiste' and Nargaroth's Introduction on 'Herbstleyd'. The classic ending of some weird man talking in a weird voice with weird poofy music is here, but yet again like 'I En Svart Kiste'. I like it.

Not a perfect release but for a first full-length? Fucking immense. The song 'Örkkivuorilta' alone made Horna's name stand out in my book and this album is a must have for anyone who is into raw black metal perfection! Download it/buy it... I don't care as long as you get it!

Recommended Tracks: 'Örkkivuorilta', 'Imperial Devastation' and 'Sormus Ja Silmä'.

My only complaint about this album is the small amount of tracks and the tiny length, otherwise it's pretty great. I was going to rate this 85/100 but I’m going to add more just for the sheer perfection of the first two tracks.

CBR 320 kbps Filesonic Links

1998 – Kohti Yhdeksän Nousua
1999 – Haudankylmyyden Mailla [Re-release 2005]
1999 – Sota [EP]
1999 – Whispered Myhts [Split w/ Fog]
1999 – Perimä Vihassa Ja Verikostossa [EP] [Re-release 2010]
2000 – Hiidentorni / Kohti Yhdeksän Nousua / Perimä Vihassa Ja Verikostossa / Ordo Regnum Sathanas [Compilation]
2000 – Horna / Musta Surma [Split]
2001 – Sudentaival
2003 – Viha Ja Viikate [EP]
2004 – Horna / Behexen [Split]
2005 – Vihan Vuodet [Split w/ Musta Surma]
2005 – Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne
2006 – Kun Synkkä Ikuisuus Avautuu [Compilation] [Reissue 2010]
2006 – Ääniä Yössä
2006 – Horna / Sacrificia Mortuorum [Split]
2007 – Sotahuuto
2007 – Pimeyden Hehku [EP]
2007 – Horna / Peste Noire [Split]
2008 – Sanojesi Äärelle
2009 – Musta Kaipuu [Compilation]
2009 – Vihan Tiellä [Live]
2011 – Adventus Satanae [EP]

Country : Finland
Genre : Black Metal
Official Site | Myspace

7" EP limited to 500 copies.
Sargeist's "Wraith Messiah", the only track carved to vinyl by the band on this release, is essentially in keeping with the stylistic approach pursued on the excellent "Satanic Black Devotion" but with somewhat less passion. However, there is an added measure of rawness in this production as compared to the aforementioned full length, which allows the vocals to be more grating on the ears. Musically, this track engages some variety of tempos. Emotions arduously bleed through a dismal desolation with the sense of bat dung and the murky gloom of cave dwelling. The lyrics are of the literary quality that has come to be expected from this band.
Side b is bumbled through by this Temple of Baal in what could be imagined as some juvenille whiskey fuel stupor of totally uninteresting nothing. Splitting this EP with such a band makes little sense. Another Sargeist track would have been far more appreciated.