June 2025 - Feature Release - The North

With me in the hot...erm...I mean the cold seat for The North this month, we are off to Finland this to go through the fourth album by Norrhem. This is my first experience of the band as I only came across them as they were added to Metal Academy earlier this year.  I have a few listens of this under my belt but I am yet to make a judgement.

As always, let us know your thoughts here in the thread or in a review if you feel you can do it justice.

https://metal.academy/releases/59058

Frustratingly, it now appears that only side A of the album is available on YouTube.  I have tried Bandcamp and some other platforms but have been unable to locate it.  Let me know if anyone else has any joy.

Frustratingly, it now appears that only side A of the album is available on YouTube.  I have tried Bandcamp and some other platforms but have been unable to locate it.  Let me know if anyone else has any joy.

It appears that these guys must be especially trve, because the album is only available as a 12" along with a 7" vinyl in its complete form, so it is going to be very hard to hear a full version, at least for now anyway.

Frustratingly, it now appears that only side A of the album is available on YouTube.  I have tried Bandcamp and some other platforms but have been unable to locate it.  Let me know if anyone else has any joy.

It appears that these guys must be especially trve, because the album is only available as a 12" along with a 7" vinyl in its complete form, so it is going to be very hard to hear a full version, at least for now anyway.

Yes, I have switched to another Finnish band I have been spinning a bit this year.  Included them on my track listing for The North next month as it happens.

Norrhem’s fourth full length release has been bobbing around near the surface of my fathomless pool of new releases this year for months now. As soon as I get into it again, something else distracts me and then I go back see it marked as a “contender” on my list of new releases I am working through, and I remember to give it some more plays before I fallback into the whirlpool of new music that I cycle in nowadays. Nominating it for feature release in The North clan this month had a hidden purpose of giving its review an added dependency.

Now, I am not overly familiar with pagan black metal, however I do know a hint of Moonsorrow when I hear one and after multiple listens, I think that the reference is the nearest I can make to how I can define the sound here. The tracks for the most part have solid, driving rhythms, offset with acoustic, atmospheric passages that give time for reflection. Clearly Norrhem have a deep sense of pride in their Finnish heritage and this nationalism is strong in the sound of the music. Embracing the melodic aspects as they do on Aurinko ja teräs alongside the more choral/chanting effects makes for a good mix of foot stomping black metal that carries an almost hidden catchiness (in the sense that it takes a few listens to pick up on it – well at least I did). Unexpectedly, I find some of the tracks quite warming, despite the colder atmospheres associated in general with the music.

I did baulk at the symphonic comparisons I saw with other bands but, again, upon repeated listens I did start to increasingly notice this in the sound. Even when the band drifts a bit too far on the eerie ballad ‘Mullan marttyyrit’, they still manage to make it work well in the grander scheme of things as a (albeit slightly grandiose) intro to the title track. Despite this symphonic and pagan meleé the band can add a great selection of riffs into play also, ranging from the squally efforts on ‘Hävitetty maa’ through to the relentless chop of ‘Teräsmyrskyssä’ which is my album highlight here. Some of the keys remind me of 80’s pop whilst on other occasions they sound like chimes straight from a Burzum record.

Aurinko ja teräs has worked its way onto my rotation with an almost dogged determination. It is not my usual bag really but is hardly celebrating sub-genres that I go out of my way to avoid either. My overarching sense from multiple connections with it is that the record grows stronger as it goes on without quite reaching the imperious levels of pagan black metal that Havukruunu have achieved in recent years. It is unlikely to walk away with any massive accolades this year but it certainly deserves recognition.

4/5

I have only just got round to this one and I am liking what I am hearing at this point. I will give it a few more spins and see if I can work a review up.