SatanaKozel – ‘Karelia’ (2023)
Rating: 9.5/10
Release: 28 March 2023
Label: Independent
The five horsemen of Karelia are proud to present us their 4th album dedicated to their land! 8 years was the time needed for them to bring us this new work and since we’re talking about Satanakozel, it is certainly been worth the wait. And of course this doesn’t mean the long time got them to lose their inspiration. Starting from their fast-paced, humppa-inspired album Rogatiya in 2008, they’ve quickly crossed the line of their sophomore album “Sun of the Dead” and from now on they’ve never left their more atmospheric and epic formula, despite eschewing the majority of Finntroll influences in their latest songs.
The album we’ve got here connects perfectly with their 3rd album “The North”. Yes, as I’ve stated earlier Satanakozel’s secrets show here again in all their splendor. Accordion, Finnish kantele and popular folk instruments, heavy guitars and epic solos open the curtain for a new musical success no one’s going to be disappointed by.
The first half of the album contains longer songs and features some fast drums tending to black metal in more than just one fragment. Despite this the band has stated to not be a black metal band, so if you can’t bear BM influences don’t be scared about this work, as there’s just too much folk to be missed these days! Songs like Doroga (The Way) and Lesoruby (Woodcutters) are a mixture of powerful guitar and harsh vocal parts with equally fast accordion, while 5th track Pomer (Died) the more folky parts make space for a slow intro and more reflective parts throughout the song.
The 2nd half of the album is where the rhythms get faster than ever, with the 7th track Unfreedom where fast-paced drums cover half of the songs and 8th track Neslukh (The Careless) where fast guitars, awesome riffs/solos, background choruses and even faster vocal sections won’t leave you the time to breathe the smallest air puffs. A storm of sounds will wrap your ears without rest between the 8th and 10th track so get ready for the most vigorous trip you’ll ever make in Karelia!
Another essential part of the band’s music is the variety of tempos used for the songs: the band’s certainly fed up with the usual 4/4. You’ll be surrounded of strange rhythms and will probably struggle a bit at first to understand it. Satanakozel does not make easy-listening music that does not wait to exit your brain as soon as entering it, so if you’re getting confused onto some passages be patient and don’t be scared to listen to their songs more than twice.
Eventually the album closes with an 8-minute long track where the bands takes the foot off the acceleration and brings a slow and epic conclusion to this excellent work. There’s no particular flaw I would point out: this band has been active for almost 20 years and certainly knows the right recipe for memorable albums. And regardless of what type of folk metal you like, you’ll definitely want to check this out!
Tracklist
- Kareliya 02:14
- Doroga 04:59
- Lesoruby 06:05
- Topi da gady 04:27
- Pomer 06:20
- Chego zh mne nado… 04:09
- Nevolya 05:19
- Neslukh 03:25
- Pop Sivolday i Konets Sveta 03:06
- Posledniy boy 04:14
- Moy son 08:21
- Bezmolviye 02:17