Review by Felix on May 28, 2023.

After hundreds of black metal reviews, sometimes it is not easy to write a new one. This is all the more true the less exceptional an album is. The second of full-length of Perdition Winds is totally generic... Finnish black metal without signs of icy bestiality or barbaric insanity, but sinister enough to represent its genre in a dignified way. The vocals from the grave, the powerful guitars and the heavily maltreated drums form a dark brew of evil tones. In other words, there is nothing wrong with “Transcendent Emptiness”, but the national competition is one of the hardest worldwide and these guys have to struggle to play in the first Finnish league.

Perdition Winds can lay a hard rail, a necessary precondition for each and every band of the genre. But it is amazing that they also give a lot of space to almost dreamy sequences. Very dark dreams, admittedly. Nevertheless, the comparatively calm, overlong section in the middle of the output (“Saturnial Void”) affects its flow and unfortunately leads to a significant loss of intensity. One could accept this, but it does not remain an isolated case and so the album is a slightly incoherent dose of blackness sometimes. Of course, I do not hate variety, but it should not be at the expense of homogeneity. Anyway, as soon as the steaming iron hate train of Perdition Winds starts to roll, they deliver sombre guitar lines and a more or less gloomy atmosphere. Long instrumental sequences characterise broad parts of the album and in their best moments, they send some shivers down the spine. But don’t worry, no one is peeing their pants in fear here. The level of anxiety remains on a manageable level.

Production-wise, the album can score with a pretty massive sound which comes into its own and makes furious outbursts like “Malicious Seed” or “Venus Rising” even better. The single components are well-balanced and the guitars shine with a full, somehow diabolic appearance. Speaking of a good balance, the Suomi dudes also find their way between variety and traceability. Despite the pretty abundant length of some songs, they are neither boring nor annoyingly complex. Moreover, some breaks are executed very well. Little blemish: there is not much that keeps sticking in the ear immediately. It goes without saying that black metal follows different rules than the stupid pop industry, but 5% of catchiness do not ruin the credibility of evil, noise-making hordes. However, this album does not lead into perdition, but it also avoids emptiness and I like its desperate mood that shows up from time to time. Even though it leaves room for improvement, it can be a good idea for black metal followers to give it a try, at least if they cherish formations like Thy Primordial or old Enthroned.

Rating: 7.2 out of 10