Artist: Moonfall
Country: Finland
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
After a split LP with Regere Sinister and two demo tapes released prior, with the first one dating back to 2010, this obscure Finnish act finally comes out with their debut album, released through Iron Bonehead Productions. In fact, this one was released about three months ago, but I deliberately wanted to have listened to this record a good few times and give it a bit of time to properly sink in before writing a review. Reason? Because I damn loved it at the very first spins and I wanted to make sure that enthusiasm wouldn’t fade after a bit of time. Reason? Because there was quite a bit of bitching around the release of ‘Odes Of The Ritual Hills’ with peopling claiming this was “utter shit” and it would end up in the sale sections of every distro. Sure, obscure and occult sounding Black/Doom Metal was never something that appealed to many, but these claims were rather strong…
But, don’t let anyone fool you. ‘Odes To The Ritual Hills’ is an album that gloriously stood the test. Although I can see why people gave it so much hate, but that obviously has nothing to do with the album itself, instead that has everything to do with their own frame of reference, musical taste and overall understanding of the niche-in-a-niche genre.
Just like basically everything that these guys have ever done, being it with either Witchcraft, Ceremonial Torture, Demonarchia Daemonum, Infernathan, Funerealm Gloom, Beherit and Darkera, this first Moonfall album just isn’t for the masses. ‘Odes To The Ritual Hills’ also is built on a harsh and total necro sound that is brimming with atmosphere, courtesy of the humming keyboards taking quite a leading role. Yet, this is, just like the previously recorded material, firmly based on the bass-heavy tradition of old Necromantia and Barathrum. No guitars are present and the drums play only a minimal supporting part. The ritual dance between the low rumblings and the eerie keyboards are only further enforced by the hoarse and almost barking vocals. As a result, this also bears some obvious resemblances to the earliest recordings of some Italian bands like Opera IX, Evol and Mortuary Drape. Especially in the use of the keyboards makes this comparison inevitable, not in the uncanny way this instrument is entwined throughout the full playing time, but especially the solo time it gets. The moments those spacey keyboards embark on a meandering sonic journey, they are propelling the album’s dynamics to greater heights and feel close to many a 70’s horror sound track.
Still, and that makes Moonfall such a unique experience, this sort of music is rather rare these days. There are a few other acts around the world doing similar things, but you really have to dig deep to find them; as a whole, the only competition in this field are this duo’s own other bands. That alone makes Moonfall a band to cherish, but I am aware that this will not resonate with the average Watain fan, and in a way, that is a good thing because it certainly contributes to the obscure atmosphere it conveys.
