Artist: Törnen
Country: Sweden
Label: Sonorous Night
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2026
To be perfectly clear, ‘Under Korpens Visdom’, Törnen’s debut album, wasn’t great. As far as I’m concerned, it was a low point in Medieval Prophecy Records’ catalogue and almost made me lose faith in the label – which, fortunately, has since been restored. Now, I’ve never been a fan of Alex Poole’s work, and to me he epitomises what happens when you don’t focus on one or two good bands, but haphazardly cobble together projects: dismal mediocrity (or even worse). It goes without saying that I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I saw that a new demo from Törnen had been released…
But, to be fair, this release, which was indeed presented as a demo tape and brought into the dark of night via Sonorous Night, is significantly better than the full-length album that came out almost exactly two years ago. Whilst the debut album sounded rather directionless and came across as the result of a collection of rejected and leftover ideas and riffs from the many other projects with which Alex Poole feels he must fill his spare time, the music on ‘Ulv Av Gammel Natt’ sounds more inspired and coherent.
The direction is now crystal clear. Although the promotional text refers to one of the pillars firmly rooted in the early Polish black metal scene, it is primarily the Norwegian sound that predominates. The discerning listener will certainly recognise echoes of Infernum, Graveland and, above all, Veles, but the bulk of Törnen’s sound on this second release is based on a blend of the early albums by Dimmu Borgir, Gehenna, Enslaved and, in particular, Satyricon. This results in an atmospheric whole that relies heavily on the use of keyboards and fairly typical mid-90s Black Metal vocals.
As a result, ‘Ulv Av Gammel Natt’ sounds a great deal more fluid and organic as a whole. The greatest benefit this has brought is that the band creates a strongly authentic atmosphere. The sense of aimless bouncing from one thing to another has completely disappeared, which not only enhances the listening experience but, above all, reveals Törnen’s true potential. Whereas I was previously thoroughly sceptical, I am now in a positive frame of mind and, although I certainly haven’t listened to everything by Alex Poole, I can say that this is without a doubt the best thing I’ve heard from him.
