Review by Fernando on January 18, 2024.

After 2020, when Korgonthurus, the original band of Corvus, the former second vocalist of Horna, and Finnish underground stalwart Kryth released their long awaited third album Kuolleestasyntynyt, I was waiting with bated breath for their next full length, and after a brief detour with a commemorative EP, the band finally unleashed their fourth opus, Jumalhaaska, and once again through Woodcut Records.

For those unfamiliar, Korgonthurus play black metal, and while they do fit the basic descriptions of Finnish black metal, they’re among the most distinct bands, in very simple terms that frankly don’t do them justice. The band’s particular style of black metal is both depressive and furious. They perfectly blend bleak atmospheres with ultra violent brutality, and this new record, is the band’s conscious effort to display all the strengths of their past work with something new, and suffice to say, this was one of the best black metal records of 2023, and one I’m still kicking myself for not covering as soon as it dropped.

The biggest difference of this record with their outstanding 2020 LP is the song lengths. This is the band’s longest album to date and on top of that, it’s only 4 songs and all are over 10 minutes. Now some people are rightfully salivating over this, and longtime fans of this band probably delighted as well since the band’s debut album was also a monstrously long, 2 track record, but I can also understand the massive entry barrier of a 55 minute record of 10 plus minute songs. However, and unlike the band’s first album, Jumalhaaska features the band’s more recent musical developments and like I said earlier this album is the band combining all of their past work into a single, cohesive opus and they certainly succeed. The songs, while long are a constant display of absolute melancholy and dread, with brutality and speed, you can easily get swept away, and by the time they end you realized not a single minute was wasted, even when the band slow down, with elaborated sections of just clean guitars and subtle bass, the music is constantly engaging, they take you through all these soundscapes and their mastery of atmosphere and aggression is without peer.

In regards to the technical aspects, the band are still featuring a clean production, as it has been the case since 2016’s Vuohen Siunaus, but the band have never lost the essential rawness of black metal, and with this record, they’ve gotten pretty damn good at using the clean production to their advantage as you can hear the hate and despair of every instrument. And on that note, I’ll never get tired of singing Corvus’ praises as a vocalist, the man is simply unmatched when it comes to his wailing vocals that perfectly encapsulates the band’s wretched and desolate sound, even now, he still sounds as rabid and demented as ever, and I can’t imagine this band without his voice or his excellent guitar skills. And while Corvus is the most noticeable member, let’s not discard the rest of the band, as this is now they’re most stable lineup and where able to make it unto a new record. Kryth is of course also unmatched as a drummer, and he keeps getting better with each release, Insanus Xul is a masterful riff machine who perfectly keeps up with Corvus’ leads and melodies, and Incisura ended up being a better fit for the band as a bassist than a guitarist during his first stint. Overall, this is the band’s strongest lineup and the results on record speak for themselves, twice in a row, plus an EP.

While I used to recommend specific songs to check, since this record is only four songs, and all are excellent, and are essential pieces of the whole experience I’ll just say listen to this album from front to back in full, as there’s just so much to marvel at, which may sound strange given how relentless and unforgiving this music is, and indeed, this is pure black metal at its zenith, this record sounds like it is the end of all things, and we’re about to be subsumed in eternal darkness. It may be a lot to take in and I would only recommend this record to the most seasoned of extreme metal veterans, but it's still an astounding record to check, because it’s the best Korgonthurus record yet, and it has everything you would want in black metal.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 13, 2024.

In my humble opinion, Korgonthurus are not among the most important Finnish black metal bands. But this does not say much in a country where each and every inhabitant runs his own project (at least one!). Moreover, Korgonthurus do not lack ambitions and so they present Jumalhaaska (“Goddess”), an album with a rather unusual design. Four songs shape a work that clocks in at 55 minutes. I understand this configuration as a kind of challenge for the listeners. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against bombastic song lengths in general. The 14 minutes of 'Det Som En Gang Var' are brilliant, the 20 minutes of Pest’s “Daudafærd” are perfect and Venom’s “At War With Satan” is the diabolic father of them all. But if you only offer little operas instead of songs, it is sometimes somewhat difficult to get access to an album. Jumalhaaska marks no exception in this context. Its songs are multi-layered, not progressive, but with a lot of variations, tempo shifts, changes in intensity and different atmospheres, even though an omnipresent, sinister undertone builds the fundament of the album.

Jumalhaaska, this is the good news, does not fall victim to an annoying number of boring parts. In fact, there is only one sequence which fails to meet the usual quality standard. I am speaking of the calm and expressionless introduction of 'Marraskehrä' that is contributed by a non-charismatic narrator. Anyway, if I ignore this more or less useless part, Korgonthurus offer 52 minutes of true Northern black metal. The material does not take care for catchy sections (and sometimes I wish it did), but it reflects the black souls of the musicians. Thus, the musical offering comes close to the true spiritual core of the subgenre. All chapters are filled to the brim with ominous, devastating, melancholic and desperate parts, while the lead vocalist contributes hate, misanthropy and total dedication. The songs appear as a continuation and extension of the title track of Kuolleestasyntynyt, the band’s output from 2020. This piece already had a very interesting, tension-increasing structure. Now the quartet has almost found the balance between complexity and a traceable flow, while it walks the thin line between these poles in a remarkably safe way. Even some surprisingly appearing breaks are well embedded in the overall construction.

The most outstanding element of the production is its solid depth, but it also scores with heaviness, darkness and the fact that everything is well balanced. The guitars do not deliver a single optimistic tone and the fact that they are slightly blurred reinforces the listener's impression of being caught up in a maelstrom of sombre emotions. The artwork is also well done and therefore I come to the conclusion that this output need not fear comparison with other works from the artists' homeland. Of course, it takes some spins to realize the power of the overlong pieces – all their facets want to be discovered and therefore you need time, a more or less isolated room with a proper stereo system and maybe a good drink. And, of course, this album called Jumalhaaska. Honestly speaking, Korgonthurus seem to be on their way to become one of the most relevant units from Suomi.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10