Sielunvihollinen - Helvetinkone (2023)

Unleashing waves of catchiness and aggression, today we have Finland’s one-man battalion Sielunvihollinen, and their latest full-length release “Helvetinkone”. Featuring eight tracks and over 40 minutes of music, this release relies on crafty guitar melodies and a hefty dose of pummeling drums to create a very lively and refreshing Black Metal. Far from your typical over the top tremolo-picking BM, this band focuses more on intricate riffs and engaging tempos to unleash their fury.

Setting a blistering pace with “Sinetti ja symboli”, the band quickly unleashes ravaging brutality alongside a crafty dose of melody and neat drum patterns. The music tempo is quite diverse, weaving back and forth from a thousand miles per hour, to more melodic and slower passages on tracks like “Raivoni astalo”, “Alkemisti ja tuhoaja”, and “Matkani päässä”. We particularly enjoy the old school Heavy Metal melodies that are nicely incorporated into the BM core.

Incisive guitar leads, and punkish drumming make “Helvetinkone” our favorite track. For those looking for darker and slower paced pieces, the 7-minute beast “Kun kaikki vihdoin kuihtuu pois” provides a more demoralizing and to some point, ‘doomier’ side to the band that we greatly enjoyed. Never straying too far from their roots, tracks like the closer “Läpi harmaan kiven” keep things aggressive and punishing.

Overall, Sielunvihollinen delivers their own unique brand of Black Metal with tons of old-school influences keeping things fresh and dynamic. “Helvetinkone” will have you headbanging from start to end while each track unravels its unique magic and plethora of engaging riffs. If you are looking for a guitar-driven BM release that is fresh, dynamic and well-crafted, look no further and pick up a copy of this release.

Label: Hammer of Hate Records

Release: September 8th, 2023

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Finland