ihminen

Finnish metal coven Seremonia are part of a growing number of ’70s occult fetishists who are taking Black Sabbath and the films of Dario Argento to new places (though not always interesting ones, in some cases). It’d be easy to dismiss them on that pretense alone. But on Seremonia’s second release, ihminen (“human”), they toss just the right amount of doom, psychedelia and even punk into their cauldron. The result is a collection that’s heavy enough to satiate heshers and sedate burners. The real difference, however, is vocalist Noora Federley, who also fits into the recent trend of female-fronted metal bands. Her icy, distant Nico lilt (which Federley delivers in her native tongue) is a nice contrast to the heavy riffing. The frantic punk rattle of “Ovi” and “Vastaus Rukouksiisi” are met with the pitch-black eeriness of “Hallava Hevonen” (flutes, check!). Needless to say, unless you speak Finnish you won’t get the finer points—just assume these songs are about wizards and demons and whatever else lurks in a black-light Frank Frazetta poster. You can make the argument that ihminen is nothing new under the sun. But if you’re doing it right, daylight should be the furthest thing from your mind.