THE BEAST

Today,   W.T.C. Productions  sets December 8th as the international release date for  Horna 's highly anticipated tenth album,   Kuoleman Kirjo .

By now,   Horna  should need no introduction. For over 25 years now, the Finnish black metal institution - founded by uber-prolific guitarist/songwriter Shatraug ( Sargeist , Behexen, et al) - have built a vast, virulent body of work beyond compare. In fact, when one mentions "Finnish black metal" nowadays, the name   Horna  is immediately invoked...and for good reason. Simply put, their vision of unapologetic BLACK METAL is proud and pure, and played with an intensity and finesse that's familiar yet unique.

While it's been five long years between full-lengths,   Horna  have kept busy on the live front and, of course, hailing the ancient ways through splits, EPs, and even a live album and a Japanese-exclusive recording. In that interim, too, the lineup has shifted once again, with Shatraug and equally long-standing vocalist Spellgoth and guitarist Infection remaining, and the arrival of drummer LRH and bassist VnoM making their first recorded   Horna  album appearance with  Kuoleman Kirjo . As can be expected, this lineup shift has reinvigorated the band, but also underlines how enduring and singular the   Horna  sound is. The preceding  Hengen Tulet , released in 2015 via   W.T.C. , retained a foully headbanging aesthetic - well, as much as   Horna  can be conventionally "headbanging" anyway - with a nightsky melodicism coursing through those chilling veins. No less chilling, if not more so,  Kuoleman Kirjo  takes on an altogether-moodier aspect, with tempos remaining nearly as fast but the riffing of Shatraug and Infection showing a more contemplative side - somber at times, folky at others, but righteously  classic  in a most '90s manner. In fact, one could compare  Kuoleman Kirjo  to early   Horna  touchstones as  Kohti yhdeksän nousua  and especially  Haudankylmyyden mailla , but in a more streamlined form - and one more asskicking, as per this lineup's utterly tyrannical stature onstage.

The past is alive because the present is dead; there is no future.   Horna  thus continue to stand immortal, and  Kuoleman Kirjo  is the only firmament on the foreseeable horizon.

Peer into that horizon with the brand-new track "Saatanan Viha"   HERE   at   W.T.C. Productions ' official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
 

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