Review by Felix on January 31, 2026.

The Finnish underground, a never-ending story. Akolyytti is a name that leaves no questions open, neither in terms of style nor origin. This makes it easy for me, because I am sure that all of you have a pretty clear picture with regard to black metal from Suomi. With that said, you are not surprised that icy, somewhat hollow yet brain-piercing guitars form the sound of this release with only two songs. A nagging, hissing, and screaming voice marks the second outstanding element, while the rhythm section drowns in the mishmash of the production. This sounds pretty harsh – I don’t say that the mix is bad. It conveys a lot of atmosphere without being flawless in objective terms; this is probably the right description. Keyboards are not totally, completely locked out, and they leave their mark due to a few haunting melodies. All these more or less tried and tested components shape the impressive 'Lycanthropia – Hunting in the Shadows', a quite fast-paced, ruthless, and malicious piece.

'Nocturnal Blood Ceremony' gives the listener more room to breathe, but it is also able to create a wicked maelstrom from time to time. The entire song harkens back to the days of the Norwegian pioneers. It could be a leftover from a band that followed the approach of Ancient, but in a slightly rawer way. The evil gnome at the microphone spits out his wisdom of hatred, while the song offers a lot of different parts and tempos. Some of its melodies are great, only the one that dominates the outro suffers from its primitiveness. However, this song leaves no doubt that these Finns are entitled to join the ranks of the myriads of their compatriots, because they have a more than solid potential. Its spooky aura demonstrates that the band has inhaled the spirit of black metal to the full extent. Thus, it is almost a shame that they offer only these two cuts (and a nice artwork). Less isn't always more. Anyway, maybe it is time to lend an ear to their only full-length, the self-titled album from 2022. And I hope that not only the Finnish underground as a whole is a never-ending story, but also that the last chapter of Akolyytti has not yet been written.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10