Artist: Anima
Country: Finland
Label: Self-released
Formats: Digital Demo
Year: 2025
I was first drawn to Anima through the release of their debut ‘Yllä Kaikkitietävän Tyhjyyden’, so for the right context I would recommend reading that review first. It was only later that I found that one day before the debut released, the one-man band launched a digital demo titled ‘Elämän Viha/Kuoleman Idoli‘. This contains a couple of tracks that were recorded between 2024 and early 2025 and therefore appear to predate the material of the debut. So sit back for a story from the view of captain hindisight.
I was quite impressed with ‘Yllä Kaikkitietävän Tyhjyyden’ and on this earlier demo, the framework of that material is already well in place. The music was from the beginning very much inspired by the earlier works of Satanic Warmaster and Horna, music dominated by raw power and ingrained melodies. But already here the spirit of Cosmic Church lingers in the atmosphere, in this particular case entirely without the use of keyboards but strictly within the riffs. As a whole this demo, as is perhaps logical, is rawer in sound. The guitars especially, but also the vocals as they have a bit more distortion on them. It gives the music a slightly less penetrable appearance, rougher around the edges in every possible way
When listening to the first song ‘Elämän Viha’ the paralels with the debut album are undeniable. Fierce Finnish Black Metal with a decent sense of groove, if anything the track is a little bit more repetitive than the songs on the debut. Melodies are slightly more buried underneath the rawer production, but still present. These are a top quality of the eponymous person behind the band, but also the vocals excel here. The slight distortion and reverb give it a more piercing character, but mostly they are brought with pure intent and intensity. Similarly, ‘Kuoleman Idoli’ is slightly less refined, and perhaps the transitions within the song are a little bit more unforgiving than on ‘Yllä Kaikkitietävän Tyhjyyden’. But as a whole, the great songwriting already here is obvious, in particluar later in the track where layers of swelling strumming culminate in an unavoidable cataclysm with chopping drums and possesed screaming.
‘Elämän Viha/Kuoleman Idoli’ is exactly what you would expect from a demo. A cruder version of the music that would appear on the debut, but still highlighting excellent songwriting and icecold atmosphere.
