FORGJORD – ruumissaarna pt. 1 – BLACK LP

Black Metal – Black version – Werewolf Records

The band’s sixth album to date, its title translated to English means “Sermon of deceased,” and is part of a larger Ruumissaarna recording session: a thematically unified trilogy, but each to be viewed as independent entities. As such, it’s perhaps logical that this FÖRGJORD full-length draws in elements of its three long-form predecessors – and of course, the long history of the band itself. Thus, we find the anti-“anthem” anthemics they’ve so made their own as well as a once-again-filthier fury; most compellingly, there’s many more downtempo moments here that wobble between tense, red-eyed resignation and a sort of stifled-violence melancholy, as always draped in a blizzard of fuzz and mysticism. To be sure, there’s many “rockin'” moments, as well, but they’re whipped into ever-alien shape by FÖRGJORD’s characteristically bent-askew melodicism and grim ‘n’ ghoulish execution. And, as the album feverishly flows onward, it takes on a gloomier aspect, creating an immersive full-length experience. To think that Ruumissaarna Pt. 1 is “the most important one of the trilogy” is daunting, indeed…

“Ruumissaarna Pt. 1 is about the darker side of Finnish man’s nature,” explains founding guitarist/bassist Valgrinder. “It tries to find and understand the reasons which make ordinary man a beast, a killer, when opportunity and circumstances are right – when things move in a certain direction slowly but surely, until it reaches the point where there’s no turning back anymore. It’s about our inner demon – The Perkele – who is living inside us and just waiting to get the opportunity to take over. And of course, it’s also about those innocent ones who have to take the consequences. Ruumissaarna isn’t fantasy nor fiction; it’s the everyday darkness we want to deny. It’s the darker side of Finnish culture and our nature.”