Flame came back with ‘March Into Firelands’ and this time the fire burns a little fucking hotter. I discovered the band in 2006 through ‘Into The Age Of Fire’, so this second album was already something I was waiting to hear. What hit me here was how much more confident the songwriting felt without losing the rough Finnish character that made the debut so fucking good.
The first thing that stands out is the riffing. Flame take that filthy Finnish Black Metal foundation and drag it through old Thrash Metal, with classic Heavy Metal influences creeping into the guitar work. You can hear the spirit of early Barathrum and the uglier side of Finnish underground Metal, while the Thrash attack brings in that old-school violence. There are also moments where the Heavy Metal influence becomes more obvious in the way the riffs are built, giving the songs a stronger hook without making them sound polished or commercial.
That is where Flame get it right for me. The riffs are simple enough to stick in your head but dirty enough to keep their teeth. There is a lot happening in the guitars, little changes in pace and those ugly bends and turns that stop the songs from becoming one long blur of distortion. Some riffs come flying at you, others drag their boots through the dirt, and the changes actually feel natural.
The drums keep the whole thing moving with that rough, physical sound. Nothing fancy for the sake of showing off. The bass sits underneath the guitars and adds weight where it needs to, while Blackvenom’s vocals sound like they were dragged straight out of a smoke-filled Finnish rehearsal room. Harsh, pissed off and completely suited to the music.
‘March Into Firelands’ also has that old Heavy Metal sense of melody buried underneath the Black Metal and Thrash. You might catch a guitar line and think there is a bit of the old Heavy Metal blood running through this bastard after all. Then the next riff comes crashing in and reminds you that you are still dealing with Flame.
The production keeps enough dirt on everything to make it work. You can hear the instruments without losing the rawness. That is important with this kind of record because too much studio cleanliness would have taken away a big part of its personality. Flame sound like a band playing Metal, not a production team building a Metal record.
There is something very Finnish about ‘March Into Firelands’ that is difficult to replicate. Cold riffs, nasty vocals, primitive aggression and enough melody to keep the whole thing memorable. It has that slightly unhinged quality where you can almost hear someone in the background shouting Saatana perrrkele!! before the next riff kicks in.
This is Flame with the blade sharpened. Black Metal darkness, Thrash Metal aggression and classic Heavy Metal riffing thrown into the same furnace. ‘March Into Firelands’ is fucking filthy, memorable and full of character, exactly the sort of record that makes you turn the volume up and leave the neighbours to deal with it.
Jumalauta. This one still burns motherfuckers: go listen!
