With what can seem like a relentless release schedule (they’ve slowed down a bit lately, but the band have issued an average of over two releases a year for about two decades, partly due to a penchant for EPs and split records), the Horna fan is always pretty well-served in terms of new tunes.
Naturally, the results vary somewhat in terms of quality and style, but this Finnish institution have managed to remain pretty vital and Hengen Tulet is another convincing listen, all things considered.
With a slightly warmer (but also more muted) production than usual, this is a less raw and scratchy listen than you’d expect, the sound often dominated by the pummelling bass drum, with the bitter riffing sitting somewhat in the background. Slower and more brooding tunes such as Nekromantia offer a sense of variety and act to break up the more upfront assaults. And as always there is a curiously organic and otherworldly murkiness to the band that separates this from, say, the technically similar and equally enjoyable Tsjuder album.
