Thursday, March 2, 2017

WHITE DEATH - Self Titled review




WHITE DEATH - Self Titled

Werewolf Records/Hells Headbangers




Finnish black metal released by Werwolf of SATANIC WARMASTER's own label Werewolf Records, in conjunction with Hells Headbangers, where do I start? Well first off this is partly in the spirit of True Finnish Black Metal in that this five piece act do bring the filth and fury of their forefathers to bear, maybe more so. They also take a few cues from their fellow Scandinavian brothers in blackness.

When the release started off I thought it was like SARGEIST on speed. Yeah I know if you're not into Finnish black metal then you won't get that analogy. Let me put it this way, once this thing starts it's a relentless attack of savage proportions. There's eight tracks on here and for the first seven you feel like you've been mauled by a bunch of rabid harpies for thirty minutes. It's not until the eighth and final track "White Death's Power" where they allow an acoustic guitar intro to sneak in just for a moment of course.

As I said earlier WHITE DEATH are a five piece act from Finland. They started out in 2013 and have a couple of small format releases to show for it. Those being a self titled 7"er and a split with another Finnish band FORLOR, both of those were released by the German label Darker than Black Records. Also their songs from those releases, "Born from the Unholy Fire" and "Commandant" are on this their debut full length as well. 

WHITE DEATH are fully steeped in traditional 90's black metal. We're talking furious tremolos, the blastbeats that bludgeon and with a vocalist who must have icicles for tonsils. Although the band isn't all about punishing the listener. They add some keyboards there and about more as a background touch then to add atmosphere to the mood. The band also has a sense of inclusion for example the song "Kaste" starts out as black n roll before moving into HORNA / BEHEXEN territory. Also the before mentioned final cut sounds like blackened Oi. 

For whatever it's worth while I listened to this the first time there was a storm raging outside. Wanna take a guess who won? That's right, not even a severe thunderstorm can compete with the fury of Finnish black metal. Werwolf knows how to pick em.

Rating: 5/5

http://neuntoter.org/

http://www.hellsheadbangers.com/

https://www.facebook.com/unholywhitedeath/?fref=ts

https://werewolfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/white-death

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