VM-UNDERGROUND

Extreme Metal Fanzine est. 2012

Latest Updates

Filter by: band
[%] - [[0-9]] - [A] - [B] - [C] - [D] - [E] - [F] - [G] - [H] - [I] - [J] - [K] - [L] - [M] - [N] - [O] - [P] - [Q] - [R] - [S] - [T] - [U] - [V] - [W] - [X] - [Y] - [Z]
Filter by: label
[[0-9]] - [A] - [B] - [C] - [D] - [E] - [F] - [G] - [H] - [I] - [J] - [K] - [L] - [M] - [N] - [O] - [P] - [Q] - [R] - [S] - [T] - [U] - [V] - [W] - [X] - [Y] - [Z]
Filter by: style
[A] - [B] - [C] - [D] - [E] - [F] - [G] - [H] - [I] - [P] - [S] - [T] - [V]
Filter by: country
[A] - [B] - [C] - [D] - [E] - [F] - [G] - [I] - [L] - [M] - [N] - [P] - [R] - [S] - [T] - [U]
Filter by: vmu-author
[A] - [B] - [C] - [D] - [E] - [F] - [G] - [H] - [I] - [J] - [K] - [L] - [M] - [N] - [O] - [P] - [R] - [S] - [T] - [V] - [W] - [X] - [Y] - [Z]

The Mist From The Mountains – Monumental – The Temple of Twilight

the mist from the mountains – monumental – the temple of twilight

Info

The Mist From The Mountains is a new band formed in 2020. But the members behind the band have made their marks in Finnish music, including tenures in bands such as Rapture, …and Oceans, Festerday, Black Beast and Diablerie. Interestingly, the band features two vocalists: Tuomas Karhumäki of Black Beast and Kena Strömsholm, former vocalist of …and Oceans. The band’s first collective effort comes as a debut full-length titled ‘Monumental – The Temple of Twilight’ which was released late 2022 by Primitive Reaction.

Musically, the band has little to do with Finnish Black Metal. According to the bio, The Mist From The Mountains sounds like a slew of Norwegian bands that include Borkagar, Arckanum, Old Man’s Child, Gehenna, Kvist and early Dimmu Borgir, but in reality the only one out of the list that is spot on is that of Borknagar. And maybe with some imagination there is some overlap with Arckanum as well in the Pagan feel of the tracks. In the acoustic segments I get a bit of the same vibe that Primordial had on their ‘Storm Before Calm’ and ‘A Journey’s End’ albums, while in the more progressive moments of ‘Monumental – The Temple of Twilight’ there is clearly some Enslaved audible. A sound that together could be described as folk-inspired atmospheric Black Metal, with flowing melodies, enchanting acoustic interludes and progressive hints. Both vocalists provide screams and growls, and even some decent clean vocals here and there. And as if two vocalists weren’t enough, Natalie Koskinen (Shape of Despair) provides further vocals, actually to a rather beautiful effect in a progressive break during ‘Thus Spake the Tongueless Serpent’. And it’s these sort of adventurous sections like in ‘With the Sun and the Skies and Birds Above‘ that lift the music up, even though the faster, more thundering segments are strong as well. Despite the cited influences, the album doesn’t get all too symphonic, although a track like ‘Master of Wilderness’ reminds me of the last few …and Oceans albums.

I personally find the mix of these Pagan elements with melodic atmospheric Black Metal to work well. But I can imagine that those that read the bio might feel a bit misled. This The Mist From The Mountains debut doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the late 90’s Norwegian symphonic Black Metal scene referred to. Instead, it sounds quite inspired by Borknagar’s earlier body of work, ranging from the cold, atmospheric and Pagan sound to the more proggy work of ‘Achaic Course’ or the later works of Enslaved. And since that’s not a path walked by many bands, I thought ‘Monumental – The Temple of Twilight’ was quite an interesting album.

The Mist From The Mountains

Related Articles