Sammale – Finno-Ugric

In languages, Finno-Ugric is a grouping of all languages in the Uralic family except the Samoyedic languages. The three most common of these languages are Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian. A glance at the globe will reveal that these countries are located nowhere near each other. This has driven many a linguistic researcher on a quest to find the common origins of these languages and a place, the mother country, where this language was once united as one, millennia ago.

This quest to find the origins of his mother tongue Finnish to some extent must also fascinate Zannibal, the sole member behind the band Sammale. It is reflected in the title of his second album, but this Pagan inquisitive spirit had seeped through in the sound of the first album of the band already. On the 2022 released self-titled debut album he combined folk instruments with Black Metal and Doom Metal, resulting in a beautiful atmospheric Pagan Black Metal amalgam. And this sound is carried forward on the sophomore album, which starts with the most impressive track written by the band to date.

During the 10 minutes that comprise ‘Pohjan neien kuolo (The Death of the Lady of the North)’, Zannibal shows his growth as a songwriter. The bombastic opening sequence with epic folk choirs transition into furious Black Metal with intense shrieks, which slowly melts into harmonious twin melodies, acoustic strumming with sitar and mouth harps and a crushing Doomdeath section with bellowing growls. Epic, melancholic, fierce and heavy, the song builds into a glorious apotheosis and is as beautiful as it is threatening. That Doom Metal comprises part of the influences of Sammale is clear throughout, although it’s not always the more Doomdeath or near Funeral Doom Metal influences that seep through. ‘Ojgo sem (A Sad Melody)’ has a more traditional Doom Metal sound akin to compatriots like Reverend Bizarre, and there is a certain sense of The River’s ‘Drawing Down the Sun’ in the heaviness of the guitars as well. On a side note, ‘Ojgo sem (A Sad Melody)’ certainly is aptly titled, as the accordeons certainly help to convey a sad tune. While ‘Mi-ke no kuwom (When We Are Dead)’ crawls awfully close to a description such as Doomdeath with a sitar, it provides the bleakest point in which the balance is most shifted towards Doom Metal. Otherwise Sammale appears very much a Black Metal band at heart. ‘Syysmetsässä (In the Autumn Forest)’ is another lengthy example of that, where chaotic and intense Black Metal is contrasted by clean melodies by guitars, keyboards and flutes to provide guidance into safety in a dense forest of sound.

I was rather impressed by the self-titled debut, but Sammale has managed to top that on ‘Finno-Ugric’. Especially ‘Pohjan neien kuolo (The Death of the Lady of the North)’ is a beautifully crafted blend of crushing Doom Metal and atmospheric Black Metal with an epic Pagan undertone. If my interpretation of the title is correct and Sammale is to some extent on a quest to dive into the past and origins of Finland and its language, then the resulting album certainly comes across as a succesful musical journey through the wild past and nature of Finland.