Review by Felix on October 13, 2022.

Hautakammio. Hau-ta-kam-mio. The name of the band is Hautakammi.. oh, you wonder what I am doing here? Well, my brain is old and rotten and these Finnish devils challenge me seriously whenever they choose a name in their mother tongue. Anyway, here comes – wait a moment – Hautakammio with their first album called… forget it, the Finnish language is a book with seven seals to me and, I apologize, the debut’s name is too complicated for me.

Apart from my linguistic difficulties, the quartet from Suomi dishes up an utterly grim version of Nordic black metal. In terms of hardness, they degrade bands like Aegrus or Malum to teddy bears. Even Behexen remind far behind. But this is no statement concerning the quality of Hautakammio’s music. The approximately 33 minutes are divided into five roughly equally sized pieces and the first of them, kindly christened simply "I" (even I understand this kind of Finnish) actually only offers tediously structured noise. But the four servants of hell can do it better. “II” and “III” leave no doubt that the guys are able to write diabolic riffs. Moreover, these tracks spread dynamic vibes and their compositional density is very remarkable. The seemingly tortured voice gives the apocalyptic scenario the instrumentalists create the final touch. Insane screams characterize the performance of the lead “singer”. In these songs, Hautakammio act like the extreme form of Behexen and they do it with passion.

The B side prolongs the massacre. Technical subtleties, playful nuances and fine-minded melodies find no place in it. Instead, the cold guitars, the permanent double bass thunder and the snare creeate a boulevard of broken beauty while the vocalist still screams with a lot of reverb on his voice. I do not understand a single word, but the destructive atmosphere of negativity is very impressive. In rare moments, the guitars hint at a melody, for example in "IV". But these elements are not characterizing for this “Pure Holocaust 2.0” minus “As the Eternity Opens”. And just like its big Norwegian brother, the album manages to avoid boredom. As mentioned above, the opener does not really hit the mark, but the remaining songs are pure joy for noise fetishists. The adequate production is another advantage of this debut. The sound convinces with the right mix of brutality (80%) and differentiation (20%).

The vinyl edition is stingy with information. Nevertheless, I am a proud owner of my copy, because this format and black metal are simply a perfect match. Hautakammio’s totally uncompromising approach is nothing but true black metal and a kind of corrective for varieties of this style that dilute its spirit. Their debut from 2013 marked a great start and I am curious to discover their further albums. By then I will also know the name of the band by heart, I promise.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Felix on August 14, 2022.

Too many fans and not enough bands – this is no problem which has black metal exclusively. However, a lack of attention from the target group does not only bring down weak bands. Flagellant from Sweden recorded a strong debut and their following releases probably reach a comparable quality level. Nevertheless, they called it a day in 2021. I regret this decision, especially when I am listening to really intensive and excitingly constructed tracks like “The Unseeing Eye”. It’s a pitch black monster that rolls over the listener, varying speed and moods, but always full of dedication, despair and willingness to perform to the pain threshold. The lead vocalist puts his entire personality in his contribution, the guitars celebrate dense lines and everything is put into the right light by the good production. It’s an almost perfect sound for this typical Swedish approach that spins melodious threads constantly while at the same time an infernal thunderstorm rages. Okay, one can say that Flagellant do not present an overly individual package, but honestly speaking, I enjoy the Swedish type of blackness very much and therefore I do not care about this lack of musical autonomy.

The three protagonists prove their keen intuition for proper song lengths. They are able to fill their six to seven minute configurations with adventurous ideas. Despite the uniformity of the material, there is no need to fear a tension drop. Maybe every now and then it seems as if the band did not realize the full potential of its own song ideas. Expressed differently, they do not combine their melodies and their aggression in the outstanding way that bands like Necrophobic pretend. On the other hand, their music has a more serious and less striking appearance than some Dark Funeral tracks. The musicians realise themselves and their vision of black metal without putting the audience's reaction first. Not the worst concept for true artists, I would say. Even better, the trio manages without frippery like female vocals, endless acoustic passages or horror movie samples. Instead, there is always the dominant seriousness. Flagellant thus undoubtedly does justice to the original spirit of black metal.

As regrettable as the bloodletting of good bands is, it is reassuring that new ones are always growing. This makes it easier to listen to albums like "Monuments" (a very fitting title) without a tear in your eye. Flagellant will not show up in a documentary about (Swedish) black metal, they did not give the genre their special individual aroma and they are probably no important inspiration for other, younger bands. But they share this destiny with many further formations. Moreover, they recorded at least one remarkable full-length, filled with powerful, mid-aggressive and authentic black metal, and this is reason enough to remember them from time to time.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on August 14, 2022.

Too many fans and not enough bands – this is no problem which has black metal exclusively. However, a lack of attention from the target group does not only bring down weak bands. Flagellant from Sweden recorded a strong debut and their following releases probably reach a comparable quality level. Nevertheless, they called it a day in 2021. I regret this decision, especially when I am listening to really intensive and excitingly constructed tracks like “The Unseeing Eye”. It’s a pitch black monster that rolls over the listener, varying speed and moods, but always full of dedication, despair and willingness to perform to the pain threshold. The lead vocalist puts his entire personality in his contribution, the guitars celebrate dense lines and everything is put into the right light by the good production. It’s an almost perfect sound for this typical Swedish approach that spins melodious threads constantly while at the same time an infernal thunderstorm rages. Okay, one can say that Flagellant do not present an overly individual package, but honestly speaking, I enjoy the Swedish type of blackness very much and therefore I do not care about this lack of musical autonomy.

The three protagonists prove their keen intuition for proper song lengths. They are able to fill their six to seven minute configurations with adventurous ideas. Despite the uniformity of the material, there is no need to fear a tension drop. Maybe every now and then it seems as if the band did not realize the full potential of its own song ideas. Expressed differently, they do not combine their melodies and their aggression in the outstanding way that bands like Necrophobic pretend. On the other hand, their music has a more serious and less striking appearance than some Dark Funeral tracks. The musicians realise themselves and their vision of black metal without putting the audience's reaction first. Not the worst concept for true artists, I would say. Even better, the trio manages without frippery like female vocals, endless acoustic passages or horror movie samples. Instead, there is always the dominant seriousness. Flagellant thus undoubtedly does justice to the original spirit of black metal.

As regrettable as the bloodletting of good bands is, it is reassuring that new ones are always growing. This makes it easier to listen to albums like "Monuments" (a very fitting title) without a tear in your eye. Flagellant will not show up in a documentary about (Swedish) black metal, they did not give the genre their special individual aroma and they are probably no important inspiration for other, younger bands. But they share this destiny with many further formations. Moreover, they recorded at least one remarkable full-length, filled with powerful, mid-aggressive and authentic black metal, and this is reason enough to remember them from time to time.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10