Uhriristi – Haudankylmä (2015)

Arriving from Finland via France’s Mortis Humanae label, today we have Uhriristi and their punishing anti-religion Black Metal. Delivering great quality Black Metal with light use of atmospheric elements, this band perfectly fits in the intersection of bands like Dimmu Borgir/Alghazanth and Horna/Satanic Warmaster. The perfect balance of keyboards/synths and blistering riffs/drums is what makes this band be more than your average BM outfit.

Misleading the listener with the soft intro, “Kaivo” quickly explodes into a pummeling riffing onslaught that has a certain Horna-esque vibe to it. The band’s vocalist Rutto has some well suited pipes for this type of music. The band instantly reminded us of the older days of Dimmu Borgir/Old Man’s Child as “Routahauta” and “Haudankylmä” made their appearance. The band’s sound is quite compact and they have a certain old-school vibe that keeps their music fresh in terms of the current trends in Atmospheric/Melodic Black Metal.

Showing great versatility, “Kaamokseen” nicely changes the pace of things with a very melancholic piece. For all of us that are into the Black’n’Roll variant of BM, the band delivers the catchy opener of “Rukous Kuolevan”. Showcasing their very unique songwriting skills that allows them to blend in multiple different variants of BM into a very cohesive style of their own. Our favorite song in this release is the eerily catchy “Tyhjyyteen Katoaa” with a certain epic atmospheric vibe that is quite unique.

Closing with the dramatic “Verjvala”, the band reminded us of Enslavement of Beauty and their very trippy atmospheric/symphonic Black Metal. Perfectly blending harsh riffs and very traditional BM elements into their atmospheric world is what makes this release standout from beginning to end. These days it is not enough to have very solid riffing and tight drumming (as Uhriristi has) to standout; it is the extra elements that bands put into their music that makes them appealing. Limited to 666 copies, “Haudankylmä” features over 37 minutes of solid Black Metal that any fan of the genre should not miss.

Label: Mortis Humanae

Release: January 23rd, 2015

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Finland