Sielu, Linna by Raate [via Rose]
Sielu, Linna is a relatively short album, consisting of two ten minute tracks, and one twenty minute, five part suite.
As the first track opens, one immediately gets a sense of the first few albums by Burzum in the instrumental work. This is made even more apparent when the vocals come in, as this band's vocalist sounds eerily similar to Vikernes. The second track offers slightly more variety. I mean... there are blast beats.
The clear hilight on this album is, of course, the five part suite. There is a nice blend of evocative melodic black metal passages with rich texture and folk passages which almost create a sort of ambient soundscape.
Overall, the album retains this sense of early Norwegian black metal throughout its runtime, but the sound comes across as more sophisticated, more focused, and generally better executed. Recommended for those into the genre.
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