Now this is a sick one. The Finnish black metal scene has long been one of the most interesting in the world and the underground magic of what they have conjured up is potent and powerful. This latest addition to the pantheon courtesy of Hexerei, Ancient Evil Spirits is a masterful one. This is a potent record full of tormented twists and turns and a gloriously bleak overarching vision. This isn't an album to relax too, but rather on that rips your teeth from your skull and leaves you in awe of the demented world that you have come from.
This is gloriously raw Finnish black metal at its finest. Not only does it make sense in the canon next to bands like Beherit but it's also a perfect fit on the Sentient Ruin roster as they are one of the countries top purveyors of extreme and twisted black metal. Ancient Evil Spirits fascinates me because of the endless pit of darkness that they seem to force you to stare at. There is a really demented vision that helps to keep it engaging and listeners diving in excitedly. The tormented vocals that ride atop a storm of inverted power chords are triumphant and they speak to the internal sorrow and bleakness of this band. It's black metal for the devotee, used to blasphemous odes to the end of all things.
When it comes right down to it, there is something gloriously unhinged about Hexerei that comes across even in the fifteen minute long closing epic, "Unholy Ceremonial Invocation", as if this is the soundtrack t hell itself. Letting yourself get lost in the darkness is a delight and I encourage all hardcore black metal fans to let themselves experience this sonic punishment. Ancient Evil Spirits is a glorious distillation of so much of what makes Finnish black metal compelling and I think underground devotees will be coming back to this one for a while.
Pre-order the album!
https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/ancient-evil-spirits
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