Kohti yhdeksän nousua

Kohti Yhdeksän Nousua is the first official full-length from the Finnish black metal horde known as Horna. Released in April 1998 by Solistitium Records, this L.P. demonstrates just how much Shatraug had developed as a songwriter. While Hiidentorni had its moments, though very few, it was rather unimpressive. Nonetheless, within a matter of months, the band managed to write and record something that far exceeded their previous output and still stands as one of their best albums.

By this time, black metal was already massively polluted by an overabundance of horrible bands that were churning out pure trash. Countless mediocre albums were being released, making it difficult to keep up with what was going on. One need not even dwell on the legions of goth losers that were appropriating black metal elements and mixing them with wailing whores and Casio madness; even the majority of key second wave bands had metamorphosed into something hardly recognizable. Thankfully, there were a handful of musicians capable of keeping the black flame burning.

At this stage, Horna absolutely wore their influences on their sleeve, which is not a bad thing. Obviously, the early black metal bands from Norway left quite an impact on Shatraug, something that is clearly evident. Rather than taking any cues from fellow Finns, such as Beherit, Archgoat or even Impaled Nazarene, Kohti Yhdeksän Nousua bears a much closer resemblance to the earlier works of Emperor, Gorgoroth and Satyricon. It would take some time before Shatraug created the signature style that he was later known for. That being said, the lack of a distinctive identity is not a negative criticism, at all. Personally, I'd rather hear a hundred so-called derivative albums like this one over experimental garbage.

Despite its relatively brief run time, Kohti Yhdeksän Nousua covers a lot of ground. "Örkkivuorilta" starts things out with intensity and hatred, erupting from the depths of hell with aggressive riffs and vicious vocals. The guitars are reminiscent of something from Emperor or Nemesis Divina, at times. "Imperial Devastation" is a bit more restrained, moving between mid-paced tremolo melodies and more Bathory-inspired riffs. In a way, it bears similarities to "Funeral Procession", from Under the Sign of Hell. "Sword of Darkness" is an all-around gloomier affair, featuring more haunting melodies and a different vocal approach, sounding more hideous and tormented. Though the production is more modern, almost too much so, these riffs would not have been out of place on an album like In the Nightside Eclipse.

The overall sound may be the only negative aspect of this record, and even that is negligible. On its own, it sounds fine. It's mostly when listening to this material alongside the albums that inspired it that one really notices the difference. Kohti Yhdeksän Nousua boasts a rather full and powerful sound, lacking the harshness of the early albums from the Norwegian black metal bands. Even relatively clear and well-produced records like Gorgoroth's Pentagram sounds like a garage rehearsal compared to this. Still, it's just at the threshold of what's acceptable, not yet venturing into the plastic, fake-sounding territory where Sudentaival would ultimately land.

"White Aura Buried in Ashes" consists mainly of intense, fast-paced riffs and hellish vocals, reminiscent of "The Majesty of the Nightsky", with some with some Bathory-ish parts thrown in for good measure. This is followed by a total shift, featuring an eerie riff with clean vocals buried underneath, which induces a haunting vibe in the closing moments. "Sormus ja Silmä" is the last proper song, a slow and brooding track that hearkens back to "Sorg", from Gorgoroth's Antichrist. As with "Sword of Darkness", Nazgul's voice is much dryer and more strained than usual which adds to the darker atmosphere. For one reason or another, rather than building upon this composition and creating something more epic, the band opted to add to the running time with a re-recorded version of "Kun lyömme Jumalan kodin liekkeihin". This is the weakest part of the album and it's no wonder that they included it as a hidden song.

Kohti Yhdeksän Nousua had to grow on me a bit; years ago, the first things I noticed when listening were the presence of clean vocals (albeit brief), the lack of harsh production and the frequent use of double bass, something that I personally don't care for. Once I got over being so picky, I quickly realized that this is a very solid record and ranks among the very best among Shatraug's very prolific career. Despite the influences being very obvious, the songwriting is very cohesive and there are a lot of memorable moments to be found. This record is not dull in the slightest as Horna did well to pick up the torch that had been dropped by their predecessors. This record is highly recommended for those into classic Norwegian black metal.

(16 Sept. 2009)
http://www.morbidcurse.com/

Now a cornerstone of Finnish black metal whose members past and present can draw connections to other bands in the scene such as Satanic Warmaster, Behexen, Baptism and more, Horna established themselves as a strong act in a country whose black metal scene was more or less monopolized by Beherit and Impaled Nazarene. With Imp Naz moving more toward a cleaner, somewhat more mainstream sound and Beherit falling off the grid entirely, Horna didn't so much have the black metal torch passed to them; more they took it for their own after having it dropped. After a strong demo-album in the form of Hiidentorni, this bandreleased their shorter debut full-length Kohti yhdeksän nousua.

Horna's heart and soul is its guitar player Shatraug; and despite the play style and sound on each Horna album being unique, the one constant trait is the use of catchy hookish riffs that work without sacrificing the evilness of the music. This trait would be picked up by other Finnish black metal bands and help the scene set itself apart from the more straightforward grimness of the Norwegian scene. As such, the riffs here on Kohti yhdeksän nousua are hard hitting and relentless and still have this catchy melody to them. The biggest two examples are the main riff of the album's thrashy opener "Örkkivuorilta" and the opening riff of "Imperial Devastation". With six actual songs plus an outro, this album varies its tempo quite evenly with its fast paced highlights with the more mid-paced "Sword of Darkness" and the slower pseudo-ending "Sormus ja silmä". The latter track also has a not so hidden bonus after it fades out as a rerecorded version of "Kun Lyömme Jumalan Kodin Liekkeihin", one of the best songs from Hiidentorni, fades in to finish the album with a bang.

This band has gone through a number of vocalists, but their first was Werwolf who would soon after start making a name of his own in his solo project Satanic Warmaster. He still remains my favorite Horna vocalist. His delivery here on Kohti... is just as grim sounding as his later solo material with his shrill shrieks. His strongest moment is actually right at the beginning of the album with his opening shout "Kristityn kuoleman myrsky!" followed by a series of black metal howls. Not entirely special, but still badass in its own right. Plus there is a bit of clean singing in "White Aura Buried in Ashes" and spoken word in the album's outro provided by guest vocalist Henri Kuittinen that add a good bit of effective grimness to the music.

This album is short, shorter than Gorgoroth's Pentagram when you consider the final three minutes are outro material. But there's so much varied quality material here that it's just long enough to leave an impact. Kohti yhdeksän nousua tends to be forgotten with the rest of the band's early material in favor of the later material with Corvus on vocals, but honestly it's not an album you want to skip if you're checking this band out.

This album, in effect, is a journey to the abyss and back again. The album starts off with 'Orkkivuorilta' which contains a chilling and, to say the least, exciting 20-second intro of basically just wind. Then you're thrown into the belly of the beast; perfectly shrieked vocals and expert execution of simple riffs create the optimum atmosphere that makes you want to bang your head. 'Orkkivuorilta' changed speed from slower sections to slightly faster than to oblivion and in my opinion if you can do this without making the song extremely boring then it's a success. I've only seen a few bands pull this off; Horna, Tsjuder and Nargaroth; and when you compare it to the likes of Satyricon who are said masters of the genre but failed to keep 'Dominions of Satyricon' alive passed the minute mark, it just proves that Horna are clearly underrated. No other band has had so many consistent releases back to back than Horna and they are the true masters of black metal!

'Imperial Devastation' is very 'Desert Northern Hell' with Horna's edge which makes it epic within the first half-minute. A good strong follow-up to the best bm song of all time and not much else could have followed it in such grace. Through this song alone you can see that the album isn't just a bunch of beats and riffs thrown together with a few shrieks here and there to attempt at fame (like Mayhem's Deathcrush - absolute piss), but the band have clearly spent many a diadem perfecting every second of this album, so that each track flows perfectly from one to the next, which it does.

'Sormus Ja Silmä' is an outright epic and shows 1349 how to create a 13 minute track without it losing interest in the first couple of minutes. The opening riff is pure class and for once, you can hear a bass in a black metal song! PRAISE HORNA FOR THE WONDERFUL BASS! At around 5:30 the track changes into faster beats and Watain-like vocals and when 7:47 hits you know the track is worth 5 stars on your iTunes. Then comes the outro of the song and I’m suddenly thinking of clear influences from Satyricon's 'I En Svart Kiste' and Nargaroth's Introduction on 'Herbstleyd'. The classic ending of some weird man talking in a weird voice with weird poofy music is here, but yet again like 'I En Svart Kiste'. I like it.

Not a perfect release but for a first full-length? Fucking immense. The song 'Örkkivuorilta' alone made Horna's name stand out in my book and this album is a must have for anyone who is into raw black metal perfection! Download it/buy it... I don't care as long as you get it!

Recommended Tracks: 'Örkkivuorilta', 'Imperial Devastation' and 'Sormus Ja Silmä'.

My only complaint about this album is the small amount of tracks and the tiny length, otherwise it's pretty great. I was going to rate this 85/100 but I’m going to add more just for the sheer perfection of the first two tracks.

Ah Finland, what would the black metal scene be without it?!
There are few bands who’s managed to keep such an impressing amount of quality throughout there discography as Horna. Their first release is not an exception! I’m not sure if there’s a special theme on this album or not, but the title of the album refers to the nine wraiths from “The lord of the Rings”.

Since I had not listened to anything from this release before, I was satisfying to find out that it had a raw but clear production (It’s clear that Horna has never been amongst the numerous amateur bands out there). Their first release reminds me of their second “Haudankylmyyden Mailla”, not only by production but by the music as well. Since the two albums were released within a short period of time I don’t really find that to be surprising.

The music is black metal in every way. The guitars vary between an aggressive approach and melancholic melodies, the bas is always present in the background. Kohti yhdeksän nousua also features the original Horna line-up which means Nazgul is the one who’s doing the vocals. Nazgul’s vocals seem to have been at its top during this time and they are very distinguishable through out the album. I don’t really have any specific comment on the drums since they didn’t impress on me that much. It’s the usual black metal drumming.

Most of the songs on the album are above average, though the last song before the outro tend to get a bit dull during the slower parts. The album reaches its climax when a choir enters on the song “White Aura Buried in ashes”, that’s my opinion.

This is worth adding to your collection if you want a complete Horna discography, plus you get a solid black metal release.