Aethyrick – Kolme Veljestä [EP]

On April 9^th, Finland celebrates the Day of the Finnish language. On this day Finland commemorates the death of Mikael Agricola, the father of the Finnish language who is forever credited for creating the first comprehensive Finnish writing system. At the same time, the birth of Elias Lönrot is remembered. He was responsible for the revival and modernization of the language and the compilation of the famous Finnish epic Kalevala, the writings of Karelian and Finnish folk poetry that are considered the cornerstone of their national identity. To honor their native language, the band Aethyrick took it upon themselves to record an EP fully featuring Finnish lyrics (physical editions of the EP feature English translations) released on this so very important day of Finnish history.

Apart from the switch from the usual English lyrics, ‘Kolme Veljestä’ (which translates to ‘Three Brothers’) sounds musically very familiar. Finnish Black Metal with a raw guitar sound focusing on mostly subcutaneous melodies, rich bass and hoarse vocals, varied forward-driven drum rhythms and a layer of atmospheric keyboards together form the basis of the Aethyrick sound. These latest recording effortlessly follows in line with the previous album ‘Pilgrimage’ and the subsequent EP ‘The Seventh’ in terms of style and quality. That is not to say that this new EP is exactly the same. For one, the three tracks on ‘Kolme Veljestä’ are a little bit longer than most of the band’s recent material, with the shortest track ‘Kuun Verta’ clocking in at six and half minutes and the closing track ‘Vanhin’ even reaching well over the 11-minute mark. The approach to the tracks is also slightly different, with the guitar melodies taking a slightly less upfront and leading role at the favor of a more atmospheric emphasis courtesy of the keyboards. It’s a subtle shift, well within the frame of the band’s body of work, but it’s interesting to hear the band approaching a cold and melancholic atmosphere from a slightly different angle. Because what is undeniable, is the tremendous quality of the compositions of the band, once again delivering outstanding melodic and atmospheric Black Metal that never loses sight of the raw edge that so typifies Finnish Black Metal.