FÖRGJORD: "Sielunvihollinen"

You can not blame Förgjord for overproductivity – during the over 10 years of its existence, the project hasn't basically released but a few demos and full-lengths, Sielunvihollinen being the band's second in the latter category. I have fond memories of the debut Ajasta Ikuisuuteen which was a fantastic exemplar of piercingly cold and harsh Finnish black metal, and it is to my great pleasure to see that their newest offering is in the very same spirit: crude, 4-tracker black metal reeking of hate and contempt with an added touch of melancholy.

The album does start a bit differently due to its incorporation of kantele which evokes a rather national, folkish atmosphere on the intro ”Suokaste”. Soon after, ”Ei Kuoleman Arvoinen” brings on the fierce black metal, and fierce it is to every extent of that word. While the focus here is on the overall punishing raucousness, there's a slight sense of otherworldly magic in one of the song's riffs, making it actually one of the band's best tracks. ”Musta Lintu” and ”Niin Lihassa Kuin Veressä” continues the same footsteps, mainly dwelling in ass kicking, rough riffs and ultimately raspy screams, until the songs conclude in rather epic measures, usually meaning a shrilling tremolo lead melody on top of fast blasting. The ominous and crawling ”Tulilahti 1959” is a brief deroute from the paradigm (both musically and lyrically), after which ”Sudeksi Syntynyt” rips all wounds open with its consciously monotonous pace, culminating in a sweet use of latent synths. The eponymous ”Sielunvihollinen” is structurally very close to the songs on the first half of the record, and ”Viimeinen Myrsky” closes the deal with some ethereal kanteles in its end.

The main lyrical concept here, I believe, is the reverence of old Finnish paganism over the inferior Christianity which gets it deserved mockery on various tracks on Sielunvihollinen. This theme combined with the fittingly swampy forest black metal creates an authentic spirit that is always enjoyable to experience. The only proper glitch is that, although being convincing throughout, there's no such goose bumps inducing moments that Ajasta Ikuisuuteen offered on tracks like ”Surman Säkeet” and ”Itseensä Kahlittu”, but then again, this might be just because I haven't given Sielunvihollinen enough time yet. Keeping this in mind, I'm already happy to give as generous score as you can see. The beauty of Förgjord lies and has always lied in that it is so authentically raw and natural yet it doesn't actually sound like any other Finnish band, and Sielunvihollinen is no exception from the band's individual route.

4 / 5