The Black League
Ichor

The perfidious sonic blizzard whizzes through the notes of this granite metallic monster unleashed by Spinefarm records in the year of the commercial explosion of the Finnish-origin "heavy-dark" movement.

Taneli Jarva returns after almost five years since the excellent "Love and death" (his last appearance with compatriots Sentenced) with a new project called 'The Black League,' taking the coordinates of the famous "Amok" and shifting them to territories close to more dynamic doom metal.
Supported by experienced and professional musicians, the Oulu singer takes charge of most of the songwriting, surprising listeners of this debut with thirteen varied, energetic tracks where diverse influences create a truly enviable impactful and effective combination.

Chilling listeners with a sulfurous and melancholic intro, the five Finns open the dance with the "controlled" ferocity of "One coloured black," Jarva's torn and original voice expands hysterically over a carpet of Sabbathian groove harmonies, and the bass-drum duel ignites belligerently. The crossed solos of the axemen are excellent, from Valanne's rocking style to Ranta's elegant neoclassicism. "Deep waters" slows the pace, taking on the tones of an "angry" ballad thanks to the harmonic vitriol living in the notes of the vocals.
Cadenced riffs paint landscapes of rural areas abandoned to the rigors of icy winters while the touching lyrics let torrential tears flow. The following "Goin' to hell" and "Avalon" differ greatly in their approach. The first is a heavy-thrash anthem that takes us to territories close to the unforgettable "Amok," with engaging singing and great solos contaminated by blues-rock tones! The second drowns in a blatantly doom-metal riffing matrix, surrounded by a harmonically epic chorus, laden with Nordic gloom.

The album flows smoothly and rhythmically dynamically in the metallic urgency of "We die alone" and then plunges into a poignant and romantic "slow" like "The Everlasting 2nd part." Touching ivory notes embrace the hoarse sweetness of the inspired singing, undoubtedly one of the highlights of the work. The sonic apocalypse celebrates in the venomous gasps of "Bunker king", guitars like marble boulders approach industrial-style compressions, the drumming dictates icy rhythms that drown in Jarva's fierce grunts. Black, vengeful lyricism, slurred crudely, the terrifying scream of the past. "Winter winds sing" calms such blasphemous fury with its cadenced-triumphal tone amid walls of riffs that reveal elegance in an approach once again close to Iommi's combo.
Kudos to the simply stunning vocal performance, a "damned" narrative amid tears and ruins. They close the beastly fury of "Ecce homo", breathtaking "tight-riffing" with thrash'n'heavy features, and the poetic epic of the long and rhythmically changing "Night on earth". In the very last track, the Nordic combo combines all the characteristic elements of the sound, ranging from the sad psychedelia of Tiamat's "Wildhoney" to the feral rhythms of early Sentenced, all deftly united by the deadly crunch of electric axes and the thunderous roars of the singer.

Enhanced by a mature and intellectual lyricism, "Ichor" will guide you into the darkest recesses of the psyche, whipping your sorrows, amplifying the desire to embrace a new, long, and relentless period of snowfalls and dim lights. Have a good journey...