Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne

In the early 2000s Horna went through significant changes. In 2001, after the third full-length album "Sudentaival", the band parted ways with the frontman. Nazgul left it to focus on Satanic Warmaster. Shatraug himself was more focused on Sargeist. At that period of time Horna's lineup was changing and the band was releasing majorly EPs and splits. The most important move was bringing in the roster Corvus, a new vocalist. Corvus influenced Horna a lot. By the moment of recording the material for "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne" only Shatraug and Corvus remained in the lineup. They invited the leader of Baptism and members of Hammer to record session drums and a bit of backing vocals. Eventually a completely new sound was demonstrated on "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne".

On the first albums (especially on "Sudentaival") Horna's music was about aggression. The music on "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne" is more melodic, but it doesn't lose much of aggression, while it's even darker, than it has ever been in the past. First of all, the production helps a lot in it. The previous album was too polished and Horna fixed that mistake on this one, which has raw sound in trademark for black metal fashion. The other important thing is the vocals of Corvus. This vocalist has a very powerful rasping type of screaming, which sounds vicious. It perfectly fits the new form of Horna's music.

Shatraug presents a completely different approach of songwriting. The compositions on "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne" are monotonous and often quite lengthy. Horna's music has become more ritualistic. Less wrathful, yet more sinister. The characteristic Finnish melodicism is pronounced and here it brings a mysterious feel. The album starts with grim and hypnotic melodies. "Vihan tie" and "Musta temppeli" enchant with an obscure atmosphere. But later some other moods appear. The likes of "Piina" and "Vala pedolle" have even a kind of a punk-ish vibe, while the likes of "Kirous ja malja", "Saastainen kaste" and "Sieluhaaska" represent triumphant moods. However, despite of the fact of such diversity, the general dark atmosphere is still present on the mentioned compositions, so they are also listed among the highlights of the album.

Continuing to talk about the best moments of "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne", it's necessary to name "Kuoleva lupaus" and "Marraskuussa". These compositions have something absolutely new for Horna. They settle a piercing tragic mood. Yet the sinister atmosphere remains on them, the sublime combination of aggression and sorrow is created. In addition to everything "Kuoleva lupaus" also has some triumphant tunes. It's a quite standout composition, no surprise it will become a one of the essential tracks in the reach oeuvre of Horna.

"Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne" is an outstanding work. Horna did well with changing its style, because after that the band demonstrated a truly unique record. The album appeared to be the most diverse in Horna's discography. There're no visible disadvantages on "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne". The songwriting of the release is memorable, while its dark and mysterious atmosphere is convincing. "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne" is a one of the best albums not only in Horna's discography and in Finnish black metal, but overall in the genre.

Unfortunately my experience with this legendary band is limited, and my first exposure to their music was the slightly less than intense “Haudankylmyyden Mailla”. While this album has its charm, it does seem to put me to sleep in some parts, and could benefit from a richer guitar sound and more imaginative songwriting. “Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne”, however, is a breath of fresh air, as it is genuinely innovative and original black metal, released in 2005, at a time where other bands have mostly been rehashing old ideas or trying to fuse superficial elements from other genres while ultimately losing the true spirit of black metal.

The production here is perfect for dark and raw black metal, as the guitars take on a trebly sound, but without becoming weakened or quiet in the mix. The bass is audible and effective, and the drums are powerful without being an annoying and constant blast. The vocals are an aggressive black metal scream. Based on this description you could be forgiven for thinking that this album must be generic (not necessarily a bad thing) with nothing new to offer. The truth is that they have embraced the old black metal spirit, but with riffs that have grown on me with every listen.

The first track “Vihan Tie” is critical to whether the listener becomes engaged (entranced) by this album, as it contains a repetitive riff that is revisited throughout the song, and could be interpreted by some listeners as annoying. To me, it gives the music a buzzing, hypnotic feel. After this relatively accessible introduction to the album, “Musta Temppeli” begins to grind its way into the soul of the listener. The opening riff is dark and infectious, serving a similar purpose to Mayhem’s “Freezing Moon” opener. The bass interacts well with guitar here to create a drone effect. After this introduction, the song speeds up to a climax which causes significant neck snappage; it’s amazing what moods can be invoked in the listener by playing a single note very quickly, but not so fast that the drums and bass can’t punctuate each note and drive it into your skull, and not without gradually moving across the musical scale. This song is what dark and evil black metal is all about.

It would be redundant to continue with a song-by-song description, as the themes and song structures remain similar throughout the album. Since I love the aforementioned structures, this is welcome, and the riffs throughout the album are diverse enough and have occasionally imprinted on parts of my brain during my days at work. It would be wrong of me not to mention the instrumental track “Zythifer”, however. This is one of the better instrumental tracks I have heard on a black metal album. No keyboards or random samples of wind blowing here! This is a slow and eerie progression that seems to creep up on the listener with the same organic and earthy guitar tones that have been used throughout the album, and I have never found myself using the skip button here, as it seamlessly continues the mood and themes of the previous songs.

Musically, the main strength of this album is how the bass interacts with the guitar tone, simply following it at certain times, but at other times diverging and providing contrast. The tempo varies throughout each song, from slow and grim passages, to climaxes of blistering speed and evil, but these tempo changes are not with such regularity that the songs become disjointed. They are sparse enough to make an impact, and the band is willing to repeat a riff for a good two or three minutes where warranted. There are even some rather warm and charming “black ‘n’ roll” style riffs that fit well.

I would enthusiastically recommend this to all black metal fans, but acknowledge that people who find constant “hammering” of drums following guitars note for note irritating (as in Nokturnal Mortum’s “On the Moonlight Path”) or who find Darkthrone’s meandering effort of “To Walk the Infernal Fields” quite lame, may not enjoy “Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne”. I, however, find it to be quite brilliant and diverse.

Woodcut black metal warriors Horna have been fairly productive as of late. The End has picked up the band’s ‘Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne’ for release in the US and for good reason. The effort is a solid dose of necrotic black metal that is certain to appeal to fans of Tsjuder and Celtic Frost (yeah, the good shit) alike. Raspy growls punctuate the flurries of high-register rhythm guitars on the lengthy “Musta Temppeli”, a cut that slices through thick skin, emancipating a crimson flow with brash intensity. The clean guitar passages the duo utilizes fit the track well, adding a ghastly ambience. More traditional metal influences crop up in “Vala Pedolle”, a more straightforward track that manages to pay homage to bands of the eighties underground while retaining a darkened vision musically.

Vocally, Corvus employs an abrasive rasp that adds a strictly evil, primitive vibe to the dismally brilliant “Saastainen Kaste” while Shatraug proves that he can approach black metal from a diverse array of angles, yet still bring to realization manifestations of a most enjoyably depraved nature. The doom-laden abrasiveness of “Zythifer” is a testament to discordant blasphemy that followers of the Finnish act will find to be most disengaged from the rest of the work here. It remains, however an exceptional representation of Horna’s musical creativity, with memorable melodic passages swirling amidst a cold, foggy sound that is highly effective in getting this band’s malevolent intent across to the listener.

Very underground, this release is one for the cult to discover; if not for the entertaining techniques Horna works through, then for the sheer emotion of blackness that it contains. Mighty Hailz.

Horna's latest release is an interesting release for black metal. It sounds like the offspring of many newer USBM bands with older Norwegian bands such as Darkthrone. It's epically proportioned, adequately produced in the sense that instruments are listen able but still sound rough, and cold in atmosphere.

First impressions from the first track, "Vihan Tie", is a memorable riff over a typical black metal blast and bass line. The vocals are reminiscent of perhaps Darkthrone, being high, rough and raspy. The song is enjoyable until a certain riff that's just a bit too melodic and out of place with the rest of the song. Nonetheless, the song is enjoyable.

The album continues to flow in such fashion. Song structures are crafted well and for the most part, nothing seems out of place with the exception of a few riffs that seem really primitive black metal/punk like. Point to the third track titled "Vala Pedolle". That track in itself if probably the weakest on the album just due to those chord progressions.

Overall, this album is enjoyable to listen to. Nothing unique or groundbreaking, just full a lot of great atmosphere with a few small exceptions here and there. There's not a lot to say other than check it out if this style interests you.