Review by Felix on December 10, 2023.

Norrhem's "Koitos" was and still is a great album and therefore it is only logical "Elonkehrä" is confronted with high expectations. But Finnish black metal musicians know no fear and therefore sole composer Valthor and his bandmates took up the challenge. In general, the band has not changed its style, at least not significantly. There is only one song that points into the wrong, an almost commercial direction. "Saarretut" confuses with a Saxon-compatible traditional metal riff and some symphonic parts with clean and / or multi-voiced vocals do not make things better. The song does not totally fall flat and fortunately it also reveals pretty stormy sections. Yet it houses this discomforting Nightwish feeling as well that I cannot ignore and so I am not able to enjoy this piece unconditionally.

Either way, the other tracks are down-to-earth and form a good album. I like the calm, stage-setting intro (too bad that it is summer, this kind of atmospheric intros work much better in autumn) and the main guitar line of "Kali Yugan tulessa" expresses force, depth and self-confidence. The band already showed its talent to combine keyboards and guitars and the interaction of these two elements works again very well. The drums commute between mid-tempo and fast-paced parts and convince with precision. It feels good: without delivering really folkloric sounds, Norrhem are able to create a very natural atmosphere. They also vary the intensity very cleverly and therefore "Kali Yugan tulessa" justifies its prominent position.

This does not mean that the remaining tracks fail to leave their mark. By far not! In particular "Sammas" mirrors the whole glory of Scandinavian black metal, because it delivers fury, wistfulness, despair and yes, somehow it manages to touch my heart (forgive me this emotional description). All of its many facets work excellently and the fathomless depth of this song is truly exciting from my point of view. Needless to say that the dark touch of the composition and the negative vibes of the vocals go hand in hand. That's not all: the proper production supports the songs in a very good way, because it lends them transparent power. Despite the fact that the keyboards add a lot of value to the musical content, the guitars keep all remaining elements under control. Mid-harsh black metal with more or less massive keyboards can result in a big pile of shit, but Norrhem's pieces are edgy enough to avoid a cheesy outcome. Okay, the amazing quality level of "Koitos" cannot be achieved again, but "Elonkehrä" sounds vital, vigorous and vehement. It is definitely worth listening. Maybe Nightwish fans disagree, but this doesn't matter to me.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10