Artist: Victimarum
Country: Finland
Label: Signal Rex
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
Iätön, Kratti, Moonstruck, Valonkantaja, Kerzenlicht, Dark Divination, Devil Moon. The contingent of Finnish Black Metal bands on Signal Rex is rapidly expanding. And that’s a good thing, because the majority of these bands have turned out to be excellent additions to the roster. The latest in line to join the fold are Victimarum, a band whose demo and single have been featured on these pages before, and who are now set to release their debut album ‘Seitsemän Soihdun Valossa’.
Both the band and their music leave very little doubt about their main source of inspiration: Horna, Sargeist and Satanic Warmaster. And those that were enamored with the band’s previous outputs will be thrilled to find that Victimarum has continued on the same path as before. The spirit of ‘Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne’, ‘Sudentaival’, ‘Satanic Black Devotion’, ‘Strength and Honour’ and ‘Operblut’ lingers across every note on ‘Seitsemän Soihdun Valossa’: Black Metal, with a dominant role for subcutaneous melody and melancholy. The guitar sound is rather sharp, the vocals snarling and the drums are explosive, giving the music a rawness that rather in line with their 2023 Demo. It makes the production intense at times, especially since there are multiple guitar layers that rise and sink in prominence.
The pace on ‘Seitsemän Soihdun Valossa’ is predominantly rather high, such as for instance in the tremolo melodies laden ‘Tulenkantaja’. This song is a prime example where melodic layers are draped upon each other. But there’s also room for more mid-tempo tracks, such as the more epic title track. In these moments, the bass claims a little bit more of the spotlight, but let it be clear: it’s the underlying melodies that dictate most of what Victimarum has to offer. ‘Kuolemalle’ for instance has an almost humming undertone and in general, Vicitmarum doesn’t make their riffs over frivolous. Instead, they rather aim at to the point and catchy tremolo melodies, which does the overall feeling of the album nothing but good.
I would as a whole conclude that ‘Seitsemän Soihdun Valossa’ delivers on the promise of in particular the demo. While I do believe the tracks are a tad long and it isn’t quite at the same level as the albums that inspired it, the raw and intense sound with memorable melodies is certain to appeal to those that enjoy in particular the earlier albums of Horna, Sargeist and Satanic Warmaster. And that in itself is nothing but a compliment to Victimarum.
