Havukruunu is a Finnish black metal band who manage to capture the absolute grandeur of symphonic-metal in the space of an ancient burial mound no larger than the sarcophagus that nests within it. They're like a dragon in a clay jar, trapped only to the extent that they allow themselves to be, bidding the cycles of the sun and moon for its time to emerge and strike fear in the hearts of so-called, civilized people. Havukruunu have been around since 2013, and without dramatically changing their style, they've managed to exponentially improve upon it over successive albums, of which
Uinuos Syömein Sota is their third. Their sound is similar to that of fellow blackened folk artists Horna and Moonsorrow and is highly reminiscent of the black metal inspired atmospheric doom of Mgla, while including elements of classic speed metal in the vein of Flotsam & Jetsam. The final result is something like
Blood Fire Death era Bathory meets
The Number of the Beast Iron Maiden. The hooks are sharp, the speed they are delivered at is like a forest striping avalanche, and the atmospheric elements are terrifyingly transportive. The best place to start is the title-track which begins with an epic, choral, call-and-response before turning into a bestial cry, riding a plummeting Satyricon-esque groove into the mouth of hell like a Viking cavalry charge. It's incredible how all of the knotty follicle strands of their various inspirations wind together into a sturdy rope, capable of holding the world of human forms powerfully above the void like it was a plate on a giant scale. "Kunnes Varjot Saa" shares the mountain striking, thunder-calling leads of the previous track, and at one point features an amazingly clear water-foul call, which rings out over the cacophony of earth-quaking sound filling the listener with resolve for the remainder of the perilous journey into the land of ice and fire to which Havukruunu has opened the gates before them. I really love the war-horse sounds that rears up and announce the entrance of the spear-mounted stampede and arrow dodging forward-tilt of "Ja Viimein On Yö." "Pohjolan Tytär" sounds like a battle of wills between a bewitched knight and the scheming, sneering visage of a troll king whose keep the aforementioned luckless hero inadvertently slid into when the ground beneath him gave way. The last, track I need to mention here is actually the final one, because it's where the Havukruunu really begin to get the footing right, solidly fitting in the grooves they had spent the rest of the album hoeing with swords, grit, and spite. "Tähti-Yö Ja Hevoiset" sounds like
Eld era Enslaved attempting to reverse the course and flow of a nearly frozen mountain river so that it can water a potters grove filled with flowers whose stalks and vines grow to take on the characteristics of the people's graves they have sprouted from. The guitar work on this final track is utterly fearless, causing you to swell with determination as you enter its final phase, a cosmic drift through the out-terrestrial, expanses of a world of light and dark, whose infinite slicing folds resemble starlight cutting a mirror without disturbing its surface in order to expose the unfathomable fractal space that lies within. Lots of black metal albums will take you places, very few of them will see you return a hero quite like
Uinuos Syömein Sota.
