Review by Jeger on June 11, 2025.

It appears the Finns have done it again… What a celebratory year it has been thus far for Finnish Black Metal. We've had the pleasure of taking in top shelf records like Sargeist's "Flame Within Flame", "Chapel of Bones" by Beleth's Trumpet and Warmoon Lord's third LP, "Sacrosanct Demonopathy". What Suomi brings to the battle is conventional yet formidable steel: steeped in tradition, unwavering in its purity and unparalleled in its character. Quite simply put, the Land of a Thousand Lakes honorably boasts the greatest school of Black Metal on Earth. No major record labels, no bullshit, only underground music that bears the torch for true Black Metal. From Impaled Nazarene to Horna to the aforementioned Warmoon Lord, a scene with rich a history and with unyielding principles.

Finland's Warmoon Lord, born unto the mark of war back in 2019, is a new entity on the scene, but the respect they've earned in just six years has been enough to catapult the duo to the top of the underground alongside projects such as Satanic Warmaster and Sargeist. And they've earned it by releasing records akin to their latest, the aforementioned "Sacrosanct Demonopathy", which was unveiled on May 25 via Werewolf Records. Striding along during "Invoking The Retribution Eidolon" as if upon a mighty steed racing its way towards the battlefield; the clash of iron upon iron ringing with an ominous sort of glory. Lightning tremolos set to razor sharp blast-beats that carry over into galloping cadences. Victory just outside your grasp but most assuredly redeemable. The apex of Black Metal craftsmanship being displayed and its only the second track.

This is not your typical crusty recorded-in-a-dungeon type of underground Black Metal. There's a velvety plushness to the record's production quality and each phase rips through it authoritatively; creating a delightful offset. Mixed to perfection, but most certainly not sanitized and epic is the way here: Heroically epic and triumphant but in a stoic way. Nothing pretentious or gaudy, only the sound of true Finnish Black Metal to arouse your senses and to tantalize the Devil inside. During the halfway point of the album, you'll imbibe a sweet lulling elixir of sound in the intro to "Uncreation's Dragon". Following this soft touch, the tempo picks up; building into aggressive sonic currents until you find yourself right back in fury's grip. Shades of classic Borgir liven the atmosphere into a resuscitated state: elegant keyboard elements drift into the hollow of the environment. Godlike vocalizations bear over you like Odin over some feeble village.

The most impressive cut on the record comes by way of the intricately riffed "His Enigmatic Ways". An ode to the Lightbringer? Could be, and He would undoubtedly find himself in awe, in tune with the offered energy and soaring through the crepuscular morning luminance. The dagger comes in the form of "Torche Of Magickal Arte". "Sacrosanct Demonopathy" ends in the same fashion as it began; in victorious instrumental fashion. A beautiful closer to a perfect recording. Doesn't get better than this! This is by far Warmoon Lord's crowning achievement, and that speaks volumes, as the two preceding albums are just stellar. A soon-to-be institution is WL. Behold as they enter into the mid of the annual with such austerity and with such class. Damn, Black Metal record of the year material! Most definitely the finest album I've reviewed all year. Kudos… Here's to Black Metal perfection! Here's to Warmoon Lord…

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Michael on November 22, 2021.

Untamed Land was a quite unknown band to me until they switched to the bigger German label Napalm Records. Behind that band name stands a one-man-project based in Ohio and before the latest output Like Creatures Seeking Their Own Form they released one full-length in 2018 called Between The Winds.

It is quite difficult to describe the music that Patrick Kern performs with Untamed Land. It is a mixture of a lot of different influences like black metal, ambient, folk and western music but it is arranged so well that it doesn't appear to be confusing or mismatching. The albums have a lot of breaks and turns that always keep the listener attracted to it and I think that you can't get bored with this stuff.

Like Creatures Seeking Their Own Form starts with a somewhat Harry Potter like intro that soon turns into a very atmospheric instrumental track with nice acoustic guitars. It appears to be a very nice invitation to explore the wilderness of the Wild West. The first real track is initiated by a harsh black metal riff but soon is framed by some western-like keyboards and guitar riffs we are used to know from Summoning. Also, the vocals remind of older Summoning releases. It seems that Frodo and his companions stumbled into a saloon called “The Prancing Pony Inn” and get some bourbon instead of beer. The western reminiscences can be found quite often in all tracks, okay no surprise if you know that Patrick likes the western topic and music. 'Clothed In Smoke' is a very doomy and atmospheric song with a lot of keyboard intermezzos, western style riffs and galloping drums that matches perfect to the western atmosphere. The longest track, 'The Heavenly Coil', is the most gripping track on the album. Here we can find some real dramatic and epic arrangements, almost like on a movie soundtrack which are combined with fast black metal elements. Sometimes the keyboards remind me of old Emperor just to be interrupted with some ambient music and some western music then (and of course the always present Summoning). The close of the track is really great, very atmospheric and rousing. You really can grip the atmosphere of the Wild West (though it never really was my cup of bourbon). So, this is a really wild trip through music styles that the listener is taken here.

To draw a conclusion about all this…I really like this album because it is so varied and never gets lost the black metal vibes that are the major agenda behind all this. But what makes it so special and interesting in my ears is the fact that Untamed Land combines so many (unusual) styles together with the black metal idea. This makes it a very diverting album that you don't get tired of after some rounds of listening. But if you don't like any experiments in your black metal soup, you better don't touch it.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10 baked beans