Info
- Band(s): Witchflame
- Label(s): Werewolf Records
- Release Format(s): CD
- Release Year: 2023
- Review Date: September 12, 2024
- Author(s): FelixS
Being released on the 12th of December of 2023, ‘Omen’, the debut album of Finnish Black Metal band Witchflame is not quite the latest of releases from the Werewolf Records stables, but for reasons has remained unexplored by us. Time to change that, as Werewolf Records is not only known for bringing forth great Black Metal in general, our knack for the Finnish kind of Black Metal is as unquenchable as ever.
Witchflame, a band that is rather difficult to introduce as this is a debut album from four musicians who were not in other bands before, or at least, because of their anonymity, are not traceable to any other bands at this point in time. But judging from the music on offer it is quite hard to believe that neither of them did not gain any experience before joining together to form Witchflame, as ‘Omen’ offers a splendid piece of grandiose Finnish Black Metal.
Yet, not so much in the vein of the bands that we usually link with Finnish Black Metal, so no Satanic Warmaster, Sargeist or Horna this time. Witchflame’s take on the Black Metal genre is a thoroughly more traditional sort of Melodic Black Metal. Not that the Finns don’t have a wealthy tradition in Melodic Black Metal either, the country of a seemingly endless stream of talented musicians have already served us with bands like …And Oceans, Alghazanth or even Catamenia. It is therefore more in that corner of the genre where we should look for Witchflame, a thoroughly 90’s-inspired kind of Black Metal that takes you back to days gone by, but without sounding too stale or outdated. The full and clear production makes ‘Omen’ an album that can easily compete with its current contemporaries.
The deep-lined melodies that drape many-layered over each other the in almost unrelenting way compete with the icy screams and swirl catchily from one song to the next. Together, they make the 32-minute duration of ‘Omen’ a delight for anyone who likes their Black Metal as it has been made for many years. After all, it’s not all original and perhaps therefore not very essential, but it’s brought with power, passion and dedication, making ‘Omen’ a more than convincing debut.
