Hautajaisyö’s self-titled debut album is an in-your-face death metal assault; a heavy, meaty and substantial listen that will get your head banging along in time to each song presented to you.
One of the best things about this album is the fact that although the music is nice and heavy, there’s also a good element of melody included courtesy of some of the guitar lines and the very occasional clean vocals, and it’s a good balance, helping the music to gain another dimension and a little more variety, rather than the music consisting of a lot of noise and not much else.
A particularly good example of this is Aamulla Vainaa. Opening with a more melodic line, when the harsh vocals kick in they hit you like a tonne of bricks. There’s a wonderfully deep and rich quality to them and they sound controlled, giving the track more of an organised vibe as compared to the often-chaotic and misguided approach that a lot of death metal bands take. The track is also divided up fantastically, with the harsh vocals and more melodic guitar lines taking turns to take centre stage and the juxtaposition of the two different styles really works.
As a whole, you really can’t go wrong with this album if you’re looking for good, honest death metal – whilst you won’t find any surprises on the piece as such, it’s a powerful and substantial offering you’ll keep wanting to return to.
8/10
