BARATHRUM Jetblack Warmetal (2014) CD

Finnish black metal has always operated on its own terms, uglier and more possessed than its Norwegian neighbours, with a doomy undertow that makes it feel like it was recorded in a frozen basement somewhere outside of time. Barathrum embody that completely.

Formed in Tampere in 1990, Barathrum were one of the original pillars of the Finnish black metal underground, the same scene that gave the world Beherit, Impaled Nazarene, and Archgoat. Jetblack Warmetal is a 2014 compilation pulling together material from across their catalogue, a proper survey of their slow, malevolent, war-obsessed aesthetic. Frontman Sova's bass-heavy, lurching approach gives Barathrum a distinct weight that sets them apart from the tremolo-picked orthodoxy. This is black metal that moves like a funeral procession, with intent. Not for the timid end of the dark aesthetic spectrum.

Standard jewel case CD, released 2014. Import from Finland.

Fans of: Impaled Nazarene, Archgoat, Beherit, Carpathian Forest