Review by Felix on June 20, 2025.

The legendary Finnish underground usually acts without any approximation to the musical eloquence Emperor once introduced with "In the Nightside Eclipse". Hate and brutality is the name of the game when it comes to bands such as Shadow's Mortuary, Gloom or Malum. Even sporadically more melody-interested formations like Aegrus do not have the almost mystical grandeur that early Emperor had (but they shine with many other qualities, haha). So what, if you give your band a name which sounds like the moniker of an averagely talented Japanese sumo wrestler, you could not care less about geography or questions of style. Therefore it is no wonder that Iku-Turso feel free to offer an Emperor cover (well done due to its newly added coarse, almost devastating touch) and the fact that their lead vocalist hails from the Netherlands fits this picture of confusing internationality very well. I just do not understand why the Emperor classic is separated from the first three songs by a half-baked interlude whose sense remains a mystery to me.

The members of the line-up are active in many further formations. Considering this and the fact that the band's first sign of life was already released in 2017, one can expect a certain maturity and this is what we get here. Furthermore, Iku-Turso do not lack self-confidence. It needs not an overdose, but a certain quantum of courage to start a black metal release with a dragging mid-tempo piece. Anyhow, the partly atmospheric "Pagan Beasts" lives up to its name and does indeed offer a beastly component. "Grizzled Skies" also shows its teeth without breaking new records in terms of velocity. Here the screams of our Durch friend add a fine note of insanity. But the most dominating element is the demoralising mid-tempo again. The machine gun drums of "Gales Of Hail" speak another violent language, but the song suffers from a terrible vocal line which shows up again and again.

The edgy mix lends Iku-Turso a nice dose of authenticity. This raw appearance seems to be a corrective to the fact that the band integrates a remarkable number of keyboard lines. Don't worry, they do not dilute the songs; "Wolfheart" is definitely adequately produced. Despite a few Pagan elements, the output stands with both feet on the venomous ground of black metal. Iku-Turso are able to manage all challenges to form a solid output, but they do not reach the summit of Finnish blackness with this EP. Honestly speaking, it is always problematic when a cover song marks the highlight. Okay, the guys avoid big mistakes, but their songs fail to spread a long-lasting aroma. From this follows that the band can cultivate its underground reputation to a certain extent, but a bigger platform seems to be out of reach.

Rating: 6.7 out of 10