Høstsol - L​ä​nge leve dö​den (2023)

Unleashing nearly 45 minutes of hellish Black Metal, today we have international supergroup Høstsol and their debut full-length “L​ä​nge leve dö​den”. Featuring Niklas Kvarforth on vocals, Cernunnus (Manes) on guitars, Rainer Tuomikanto (Ajattara) on drums, and Vesa Wahlroos (Ajattara) on bass guitar, this stacked lineup delivers five tracks of intense music that is both moody and demoralizing.

After an atmospheric mood setting opening, “As seen through the eyes of the prophet” nicely warms up to melodic riffs and Niklas Kvarforth’s signature snarls. While the opener does not show all the cards the band has, “Det som en gång var (det kommer aldrig igen)” quickly escalates into crushing heaviness with intense drumming and blistering guitar-work alongside a throbbing bass guitar line. This track is as sinister as they get, perfectly shifting the release to higher gears.

Aside from their atmospherics, “Din skördetid är nu kommen” and “Länge leve den ansiktslöse mördaren” are both filled with incisive guitarwork that is far from typical, creating a very powerful and punishing different kind of Black Metal. Particularly there are some cleaner and more crafty melodic passages that differentiate the band from just another BM outfit, allowing the band’s sound to be expansive, highly melodic, and exploratory at times.

Closing with the raw power of “Parallellt dubbelliv”, Høstsol is one of the most crushing and yet different sounding bands in the last few years. While there is plenty to love from traditional Shining/Niklas Kvarforth fans, there are also some elements of the Manes weirdness thanks to Cernunnus. As a whole, “L​ä​nge leve dö​den” is a very intense and yet engaging Black Metal release that will catch some by surprise with its wider stylistic range.

Label: Avantgarde Music

Release: January 13th, 2023

Genre: Black Metal

Country: International