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Likno – Likno

likno – likno

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At first glance, very little about Likno would suggest we are listening to a Hellenic band. Certainly not from the cover, depicting an icy landscape. Or from the first full opening track ‘Likno’, which leans much stronger into the territories of Norwegian Black Metal. It is in the name, meaning cradle or birth crib, that we find the first connection with Greece.

Indeed, the majority of the band’s debut album finds itself within the realms of Norwegian Black metal of the mid 90’s. The uptempo Black Metal with raspy shrieks and epic undertone bear a strong resemblance with the early sound of the likes of Enslaved, Ulver, Borknagar, Kampfar and Satyricon. But the band has more up their sleeves. In the predominantly midtempo ‘Void’ we hear more melody and bombastic keys, and this song embeds more of the sound of their homeland and in particular the likes of Varathron. And perhaps it’s me, but I even hear a distant resemblance to Megadeth’s ‘Hanger 18’ in the song as well. As one of the three tracks clocking in at over seven minutes, the band also shows it can keep longer compositions interesting. Such is the same in the subsequent ‘Birth’, a song heavily leaning on the Norwegian traditions but with a distinctly Hellenic break and an enchanting, stretched ending with proggy bass and flutes. In ‘Still’ the band seems to flirt even with the traditional Doom Metal genre, and I could swear to hear some of Metallica’s ‘Fade to Black’ in the imposing buildup of the song. It presents a more melancholic and yearning side of the band, that ends in acoustics with a flute to further enforce that Folky character of the sound. ‘White Wings’ then feels like the perfect conclusion of the record, a sharp and volatile ending of the album with splendid riffs, subcutaneous melodies, catchy rhythms and icy vocals.

No, Greek Black Metal is not the first thing that comes to mind when listening to Likno. But that doesn’t make it any less impressive what the band presents. A great mix of the epic, Folk-inspired Norwegian Black Metal of the early and mid 90’s with some Greek bombast and buried classic Metal, ‘Likno’ is a captivating adventure worth undertaking.

Likno

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