Saturnian Mist
Gnostikoi Ha-Shaitan ()
Wydane przez Ahdistuksen Aihio ProductionsRok wydania Kraj FinlandNapisał Wouter7
Finland continues to be the primary provider of the harshest black metal. Saturnian Mist is the latest of these hordes. Much like Arvet, a band comprised of former members of this unit, Saturnian Mist present a primitive black/thrash assault with minor death metal stylings and leanings. Most obvious are the screamed/shouted vocals and the pumping grooves that wouldn’t feel out of place on a death/thrash record. In its most primitive and savage form Saturnian Mist regularly sound like (early) Bathory or Horna. What Saturnian Mist lacks in straightforward blasting, it makes up in sheer visceral intensity and rabid bloodthirstiness. Comparisons to Archgoat are inevitable, but both bands differ radically in lyrical concept, although there are obvious similarities. Like their peers in Arvet the production is kept quite minimal and sparse. The guitars have a reasonably good tone with enough crunch but could have been pushed to the fore more, the bass features prominently, often drowning out the guitars they follow, the drums are lacking that oomph and hammering sound (especially the snares, kicks and toms) that is usually found in underground acts. Essentially was this production misses is the accumulated heaviness and bottom end you’d expect from a bass guitar and drum kit that feature so prominently in this band’s attack. In all, it’s significantly better sounding that Arvet’s recent outing, but it is far from good. On the whole “Gnostikoi Ha-Shaitan” is a battering and savage black metal assault that, with some additional finetuning and tweaking in composition and production values, can easily measure itself with any of the established leaders in this field. The Land of Thousand Lakes continues to deliver. Well done.
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