Artist: Sammas’ Equinox
Country: Finland
Label: Breath of Pestilence
Formats: CD
Year: 2025
‘Pohjanheimo’ is the second album by Sammas’ Equinox, a band from Finland that amongst others harbours members of Blood Red Fog, Moon Oracle, Caestus and Nécropole (live). On this Breath of Pestilence released record, the band doesn’t fully abandon their previous path but presents both a more venomous and unpredictable recording compared to the preceding ‘Maailmantaonta’ EP, as well as a sharper and more restless sound than on the debut album ‘Tulikehrät’. This is a sound rooted in Black Metal with a tangible atmosphere, one that infuses more Folkloric elements than any of the other projects. Certainly, you could call the underlying melodic progressions epic at times, but due to the shrill guitar sound the album retains a coldness to it. A mix of Finnish sharpness, a more Folky version of Cosmic Church and riffs in the vein of early Satyricon would pretty much cover what to expect when playing this album.
If any word would come to mind to describe ‘Pohjanheimo’ it would be layered. With several different raw guitar parts, whistling keys, audible bass, creative drum patterns and commanding raspy vocals, there is no short supply of things to dissect during the nearly 34 minutes journey. There is a certain nervous energy when all these elements collide, not necessarily one that is dissonant, but the different parts don’t necessarily always follow the same flow. Call it contradictory or intense, it creates a rather fascinating whole that fully keeps you on your toes. This at times cataclysmic nature most applies when the tempos are cranked up, with the lower paced sections providing more clarity. Tempo changes in general is not a thing the band shies, further adding to the versatile character of the album.
‘Pohjanheimo’ is a diverse album, one that combines a harshness of the guitar sound and the vocals with a beauty in the underlying melodies and a sense of haunting in the keyboards. Raw, atmospheric and Folklore-infused Black Metal that choses its own convention, one with an individual, unpredictable and volatile nature. Yet even in its escalations of contradiction, the band maintains total control, and every nuance seems purposely incorporated. A feat that’s very impressive indeed!
