Vorna – Ei valo minua seuraa

[schema type=”review” name=”Vorna – Ei valo minua seuraa” description=”Label: Inverse Records ” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2015-12-04″ ]

Vorna is a Finnish pagan metal band founded in 2008. The band’s first record has been released in 2013 so we can say that they are quite young but with potential for sure. The band’s sound has various influences from black metal to folk/rock. The lyrics are written in Finnish and mostly deal with themes like nature and myths.
The latest record “Ei valo minua seuraa” (which means “No Light Follows Me”) is out!

To be honest, this album sounded quite ordinary in the beginning with that typical Finnish melodic metal sound but the more I listened to the album, the more potential I saw in the band. The character of the band’s sound is unique and draws in the listener so this is one of the pros of the album.

Soundwise, the album features 45 minutes of great pagan metal melodies. I even sensed some power metal atmosphere in “Jälkemme” or atmospheric vibe in “Vaipunut” (featuring also clean vocals) which is quite different compared to the whole vibe of the album. The only unusual element of this album is the vocal duties; they reminded me somehow of Agalloch vocals minus the atmosphere and I gotta say I was a bit surprised but it kinda fits to the sound of the record. Another interesting elements is the band singing in Finnish completely; I really liked this aspect as it sounds more natural and definitely fits to what the band’s lyrics are about.

One highlight of the album is definitely the second half. It’s more atmospheric, sometimes more up-beat and that’s where the whole album has gained my respect. One example of this is “Yksin” which fits to this winter season quite well!

Probably one of the things that needs improving is the production of the album. Although I really liked the synths/keyboards in the record, I think that they were somehow left in the background and this made me wonder if maybe the band wanted to focus more on the riffs and the vocals, which were ‘brought’ to the front too much. So a balance would have been much better. But this aspect did not really disturb me and I am sure the band will improve a lot in the future.

“Ei valo minua seuraa” is a great pagan metal record! Especially recommended for the lovers of Finnish melodic metal and pagan/folk/black metal in general! Looking forward to hearing more of this band in the future!

Line Up:
Vesa Salovaara – vocals
Arttu Järvisalo – lead guitar
Henri Lammintausta – rhythm guitar
Niilo Könönen – bass
Saku Myyryläinen – synths
Mikael Vanninen – drums

Tracklist: 01. Harmaudesta (Away from Grey) 02. Jälkemme (Heritage) 03. Itsetön (Soul Shriven) 04. Sieluni varjossa (In the Nightside of Self) 05. Vaipunut (Of Life Descended) 06 Yksin (Alone) 07. Hiljaiset rauniot (Silent Ruins)

Links:
Vorna Facebook
Vorna Official