Artist: Feral Howl
Country: Norway
Label: Breath Of Pestilence / Howling Fury Productions
Formats: Cassette EP
Year: 2025
Back in 2022 Feral Howl released two demos, of which the second was an instrumental full Dark Ambient/Dungeon Synth-like recording, but the first one, ‘Atavistic Meditations’ was a thoroughly impressive piece of work. It reminded much of the slightly Folk-tinged and melodic Black Metal bands that are currently hailing from the Quebecois lands and tend to find homes at labels like Nordvis Produktion and Eisenwald. I failed to capture the follow-up 2023-released album in a few words for a review, but it was a strong continuation of the musical formula chosen on that first demo tape and now this illustrious (one man?) band from Norway returns with a new EP that bears a title that roughly translates to “The Bloodstained Earth And The Sign of Abomination”.
And, frankly, this new EP is clearly venturing in a different direction. Yet, Feral Howl is doing so without losing much, if anything, of their previous musical footprint. There is still much left of the intricate Folk-melodies and overall Nordvis Produktion-vibe, but a comparison with Forteresse, as I made in the review of ‘Atavistic Meditations’, would now fall short. That part of Feral Howl seems to be gone, at least, based on this newest EP. Instead, we are presented with a new flavour that tastes at least as good as what we have been served before.
‘Den Blodstenkede Jord Og Vederstyggelighetens Jærtegn’ is best described as a mix between later Armagedda, ‘Ond Spiritism: Djæfvvlens Skalder Anno Serpenti MMIV’ and ‘Svindeldjup Ättestup’, and the bareboned structures of Ildjarn as captured by current stalwarts ofVordr, Akitsa and Kêres. That means the music is stripped down to its essentials: prominent strumming melodies, powerful and propulsive drums and savage (or feral) vocals, all wrapped up in a rather clear and clean production. The Punk and Wave-like structures and attitude of the music together with the Folky melodies supply the music with a certain sense of urgency.
In the three tracks of this EP, clocking well under 20 minutes, the band shows itself in a remarkable way. Without a glimmer of a doubt, this is Feral Howl’s next step in its musical journey, but at the same time it feels like the band is reborn, a second coming of sorts. ‘Den Blodstenkede Jord Og Vederstyggelighetens Jærtegn’ is like a more well-rounded and fully reinvented version of what the band has been doing before.
