Artist: Ave Sanguine
Country: Turkey
Label: Self-released
Formats: Digital EP
Year: 2023
It would be so easy to assume that ‘By Clandestine Will’ was released by a Finnish band. But instead of hailing from a city like Turku, the two members of Ave Sanguine hail from the country of Turkey. But as you guessed it, there is much in the music on this debut EP that is distinctly akin to Finnish Black Metal, and to be specific the likes of Satanic Warmaster and Sargeist. Cold shifting melody-clad riffs with snarling vocals, the uptempo catchy songs have everything that has made this typical sound so internationally acknowledged. And for most of the songs Ave Sanguine follows their undeniable Finnish formula quite strictly, with the exception of ‘The Castellan of the Demon’s Castle’. Here the band adds a nice twist in the shape of an acoustic medieval outro, as well as some riffs that hint more towards a Hellenic and Swedish sound. In songs like these there is a more epic touch to the music, but overall Ave Sanguine keep the songs simple and to the point, with melancholy at the centre but without losing a decent degree of rawness. And in that, one cannot deny the band’s penchant for a good and catchy melodic Black Metal. Not only that, their take on ambient Dungeon Synth with the closing track ‘Evil Is an Absolute Necessity’ is pretty decent too.
The music on ‘By Clandestine Will’ is downright solid. No, it’s nothing too original, although there is promise in a song like ‘The Castellan of the Demon’s Castle’ for Ave Sanguine to break out of their mold onto a path that would bridge the freezing planes of Scandinavia with a more Mediterranean sound. Until then, it’s mostly the worshippers of Finnish Black Metal that should be looking to give this band as try.
