I’m not sure what the deal is, but Finland has been coming in hot this week. It was just the other day that I reviewed the debut album from up and coming death metallers Disguised Malignance, Entering the Gateways: an effort in which I was taken aback by the music and the age of the players themselves. Just two days later and I find myself back in Finland, this time reviewing a band on the blackened side of the spectrum, Moonlight Sorcery, and their debut full length, Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle (say that title five times fast).
Considering I seldom review black metal releases, you’re probably wondering what the catch is here. Surely, this has to be a band of blackened speedpunks hellbent on filth driven destruction, right? Wrong, but yes, there is a catch. The type of black metal Moonlight Sorcery plays is less in line with the textbook Norwegian bands and more in line with the mid to late ’90s wave of melodic and symphonic black metal which arose during that wilderness period when extreme metal played by no rules. You know the days when extreme metal resided solely in the underground and even names like Maiden and Priest were struggling to fill theaters? That’s what this album feels like a throwback to.
The late ’90s ethos of this album is immediately established on Horned Lord‘s opening track, “To Withhold the Day”. This rampaging slab of melodic black metal boldly marries the symphonic undertones of Emperor with the flashy soloing of Children of Bodom, making for an intriguing combo to say the least. The latter trope is dominant in the instrumentation and energy of cuts like “In Coldest Embrace”, “Into the Silvery Shadows of Night”, and the epic closer, “Suden tie (Wolven Hour part II)”, creating an almost blackened power metal feel. The best way I can describe these moments is as if a ’90s black metal band were attempting Keeper of the Seven Keys era Helloween.
Alas, Horned Lord isn’t exclusively about musical virtuosity. Being that this is a black metal release at heart, there’s no shortage of foreboding darkness and evil on here, especially on songs such as “Vihan verhon takaa” and “Fire Burns the Horizon”, while the folksy “Yönsilmä” adds an entirely foreign dimension of cryptic heaviness. Granted, even at their blackest, Moonlight Sorcery assault the listener with mesmerizing melodies, gigantic hooks, and ungodly pomp that would make even Styx blush, making Horned Lord all the more of a memorable listen.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Horned Lord is one of the most ambitious and impressive black metal releases of 2023. It feels less like a rehash or even homage to a lost era and more like a time warp capturing the very essence of what made bands like Emperor, Borknagar, Dissection, etc. so special to begin with. Perhaps these budding sorcerers have tapped into some unholy spacetime continuum in which they borrowed some ideas from the great Ihsahn? Or perhaps, more realistically, they’re just super talented. I’m going to assume the latter.
8 out of 10
Label: Avantgarde Music
Genre: Melodic Black Metal
For fans of: Stormkeep, Emperor, Children of Bodom