Rauta
A metalhead who loves video games, television series, movies and working out.
Recent posts
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Khold - Svartsyn
It has been quite some time since Khold, initially regarded as a Tulus side project, released their excellent debut Masterpiss of Pain (2001). Surprisingly little has changed for Khold since those days. Although their release schedule slowed down considerably after Hundre år gammal (2008), you can still recognize Khold as the same band from the very first note. The wheels seemed to come off with T…
- black-metal
- music-review
- +1
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Indesiderium - The Nocturnal Seance of Lucifer
Indesiderium hail from California, but you would never guess it from their musical style. What they deal in is fast-paced and melodic black metal following the conventions of the second wave. The band, formed in 2012, delivers a competent but unsurprising and rather flat third album with The Nocturnal Seance of Lucifer. The melodies move at a brisk pace, building around a certain atmosphere of dar…
- black-metal
- music-review
- +1
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Kirottu - Barren
If Emperor and Falkenbach had a child, its name would be Barren. The black metal band Kirottu, formed in 2019, released a decent debut in 2021. Since then, the band has taken its time putting together its second album, which represents a clear step forward. The result is an album steeped in worship of early Emperor, but with a distinctly German twist. That twist brings early Falkenbach to mind, as…
- black-metal
- finland
- +1
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Dieux des Cimetières: Mercy & Severity
The multi-talented figure of marginal music, and an occasional writer for Imperiumi, Jesse Ryhänen has returned to perhaps his most important project after a break of just under two years. The album liner notes make it clear, however, that this is not exactly a fresh effort, but rather the result of work carried out between 2017 and 2025, now manifested as an album. Mercy & Severity is marginal mu…
- death-industrial
- finland
- +2
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Maple Cross - Creo Tempus
Maple Cross was already a cult band in the ’90s, and such status rarely disappears with age. Creo Tempus is proof of that, being part of Bestial Burst’s Thrashing Relics series, which has given listeners the chance to revisit several old Finnish thrash bands through reissued demos. Creo Tempus contains no fewer than four old releases from 1988–1991. The CD also comes with a collage of period photo…
- finland
- music-review
- +1
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Nekrokrist SS - Seitsemäs
Almost unnoticed, Savonia has become one of the more important regions for Finnish black metal in the 21st century. While the bigger breakthroughs are still waiting to happen, there is no shortage of promising underground acts. One of the many is Nekrokrist SS, which started out as early as 2000 and has spent its entire career in the shadow of bigger names. By 2026, only one original member remain…
- black-metal
- finland
- +1
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Käärmekristus - Otavaisen olkapäille
Otavaisen olkapäille, radiating a sense of nature mysticism, is the debut album by the solo project Käärmekristus. Stylistically, it is melodic and raw black metal made with a lo-fi mindset. The questionable icing on the cake comes in the form of drumming performances riddled with mistakes, which further emphasize the album’s careless and indifferent approach. If Käärmekristus is to be compared to…
- black-metal
- finland
- +1
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Vermithor - Bloodsport
Vermithor is a good example of the healthy state of Finnish death metal in the 2020s. Formed in 2024, the band has wasted no time. Shortly after forming, the four-piece recorded the Wasteland Throne EP (2025) at the end of that same year. The lineup then shrank to a trio, which put together a second EP towards the end of 2025, released in spring 2026. By summer, the band had once again grown into …
- death-metal
- finland
- +1
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Sanctuaire - Le sang sur l'acier
Sanctuaire is one of those lesser-known Canadian black metal gems that has probably been lost somewhere in the shadow of bigger bands. Monarque Helserkr, known from Monarque and Forteresse, has been working on Sanctuaire in a solo-project capacity alongside his other bands since 2013. Le sang sur l'acier, released in 2016, is a very good four-track EP. Its basic formula consists of fast-paced and…
- black-metal
- canada
- +1
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Beatrix - Deathsent Ceremony
When black metal and thrash are married together in a Tampere fashion, the result is Beatrix. This time, though, it would be more accurate to talk about thrash/black rather than black/thrash, because despite the snarling vocals, thrash is clearly the driving force behind this five-piece. The fact that its quality happens to be darker doesn’t really make it all that black metal-oriented. Deathsent …
- black-metal
- finland
- +2
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Your Friends & Neighbours (season 1)
If you take Jon Hamm (Don Draper from Mad Men), use Queen of Fucking Everything as the foundation, and marinate the whole thing in the world of Billions, you end up with the excellent Your Friends & Neighbours. The title may be absolutely terrible, but Jonathan Tropper, known from Banshee and Warrior, has managed to create a highly engaging series that borrows elements from both film noir and the…
- television
- tv-review
- +1
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Mystic Blood - Mystic Blood
Among the countless inconsequential black metal side projects, it is a relief to occasionally come across something genuinely good. One such case is Mystic Blood, apparently formed around 2025, whose self-titled debut EP offers a tasty dose of raw black metal. The duo’s history includes some slightly older bands, such as Kratti and Dark Divination, as well as a number of other projects. The bigges…
- black-metal
- finland
- +1
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Circle of Dawn - Savonian Supremacy
The spearhead of Savonian black metal, Circle of Dawn, made it clear already on their debut (Northern Savonian Black Metal, 2017) that Savonia had arrived — and arrived hard. Despite their stern image, the band’s music occasionally turns into downright delicate atmospheric contemplation, and they have not shied away from such moments on their second full-length either. This compact six-track effor…
- black-metal
- finland
- +1
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Amurta - Revel in Perdition
Few people are likely to look back fondly on the COVID years, although the forced restrictions on movement undoubtedly fueled creativity in some ways. One example is the debut demo by Turku-based Amurta, released in late 2020 and completed during the pandemic itself. It took a full five years for the band’s second release to see the light of day: the three-track EP Revel in Perdition, which is now…
- black-metal
- finland
- +1
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Cut Up - Forensic Nightmares
When Sweden’s Vomitory called it quits in 2013, fans didn’t have to wait long for a follow-up. Cut Up was formed the very next year, featuring several musicians from the same lineup. Their debut album, Forensic Nightmares, was released in 2015. Stylistically, the debut largely continued where Vomitory had left off: fast-paced death metal with a solid groove. Cut Up differs from many other Swedish …
- death-metal
- music-review
- +1
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In the beginning, there was nothing…
Welcome to Rauta! Or maybe I should call this Rauta Nexus, as the main Rauta thing is already on YouTube - the heart and core of this whole thing that I am doing. The idea for this blog didn’t happen just like that. It started as an idea to expand the channel into written format, but then I started thinking, “But why?” There was no simple answer. I was already doing my music reviews, opinions and …
