For those of us in love with pagan black metal, few countries export the genre with more consistency and quality than Finland. Noidva is one of my favorite groups to emerge from this scene in the past few years and their new album Lappish Shatanism is an incredible step up on their already impressive debut Windseller. It makes for compelling listening that elegantly fuses several different genres together to craft a brand of black metal that is compelling, powerful and wholly their own. Exactly what so many of us are looking for in our listening.
I think what charms me the most about Lappish Shatanism is that while this is very much a pagan and folky black metal record it is done with a lot more grit and charm than most of the offerings in this space. The record shows a deep love for melodic black metal and the ability to blend aggressive, unrelenting drums with pagan themes is impressive. This isn't some airy fairy release that tries to be larger than itself. Instead it's the sound of a pagan world ending and being forced to confront a modern one that seems to have no redeeming qualities. The end result is angry, medieval and strangely addictive - exactly what I needed for a Monday morning.
Lappish Shatanism is a thrilling offering and one that I think lays the groundwork for tons of new, more evil music to come. The band has found a clear path forward that is compelling and exciting, the sort of thing that has listeners returning to bend the knee before a group who have mastered their craft. If you let yourself get lost in these twisted visions then you too might find yourself wandering the snowy woods at night... at least in spirit.
Pre-order the album!
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