Vordven
Woodland Passage

The Vordven formed in 1996 in Huittinen, in the Land of a Thousand Lakes: their first demo "When The Wind Blew The First Time," released in 1997, went unnoticed, but the group's only full-length, "Towards The Frozen Shadows," received more publicity, supported by the capable No Colours Records, granting the band a certain notoriety.

The Vordven are the white fly of Finnish Black Metal: in a scene dominated by the roughness of Horna and Behexen, the extremism of Satanic Warmaster, the darkness of Calvarium and Sargeist, a proposal like Vordven's could not have had much success. And indeed, it never did. Vordven played very soft Black Metal, centered on fantastic and Tolkien-like themes, without, however, being a dark and gloomy version of Power Metal bands. Even in terms of attitude and image, they always stayed away from the excesses of their compatriots, and perhaps this is why they never managed to break through: in a scene where musicians consider themselves as beasts possessed by the devil, with imagery bordering on the inhuman, appearing in public dressed in studs, without face painting, singing about forests and full moons could certainly not resonate with the audience.

From a musical point of view, however, Vordven's proposal was notable because it relied on some underutilized aspects of Black Metal: comparing them to other Symphonic Black Metal bands would not yield satisfactory results. The main reference for this work is Dimmu Borgir's first album: "For Alltid." The same taste for melody is present in both albums: Vordven almost entirely abandoned the gothic aspect of the Norwegians to focus on the fairy-tale, dreamy, creating a relaxed and impactful atmosphere.

The EP 'Woodland Passage' is a step below the previous LP and marks the premature exit from the scene for this unknown Finnish band: the record opens with the notes of "Heathen Blood Never Falls", always in line with early-career Dimmu Borgir, but capable, as already mentioned, of creating a personal and evolved sound; the rhythms are fast without being relentless, the screaming is appreciated in its essentiality, avoiding playing the massacre game with the listener's ears. The song significantly alternates black outbursts, always supported by Matti Kaasalainen's keyboards, and more relaxed moments, where the songwriting decidedly shifts to Heavy Metal shores.

The next track "Journey Into The Realms Above" is an instrumental with great impact in its simplicity; entrusted solely to the synths in the first part, it culminates in the finale in a suggestive moment where lead guitars intertwine, soaring to outline a frame with a strong fairy-tale flavor. The attitude of Vordven - always a Black Metal band - stands out, capable of beautifully not caring about evil, delivering moments of sublime Beauty, almost rural in its naivety. Enchanted realms, wooded expanses crossed by glows constitute Vordven's enchanted universe, viewed with the typical melancholy of those who have lost what they loved: there is no despair, there is almost no darkness in the notes of this EP, only nostalgia for what has gone. The tones are sometimes darker and nocturnal, as in the title-track, the symbol of this album, and streaked by a keyboard loop with an ethereal and dreamy flavor; other times they are much more folk, as in "Cold Pagan Steel", with its medieval flavor.

I would define the music of Vordven as "twilight"; always balancing between light and dark, capturing the brightness of the former and the macabre romanticism of the latter. The best thing about this album, beautiful without being genius, is the arrangements and an omnipresent taste for details: from flutes to piano, from organs to synthesizers, everything contributes to making the album varied, which then results in being homogeneous and mature.

No Colours released an anthology work of Vordven, titled eponymously (but also known as "History"), containing the entire full-length Towards, part of this EP, and the first 1996 demo.