Today, Finnish black metallers Valravn reveal the new track “Liekki Tiemme Valaisee.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, The Awakening, set for international release on September 8th via Primitive Reaction. Hear Valravn‘s “Liekki Tiemme Valaisee” in its entirety here:
Like a bolt from the blue, Finland’s Valravn arrived fully formed with their first album, 2020’s Prey. Evincing a mastery beyond their short time as a band, Prey no doubt displayed characteristics of Finland’s now-world-renown black metal sound – cryogenic melody, raw ‘n’ rugged execution, an unapologetic assertion of traditionalism – but in other, more telling aspects, Valravn asserted their own identity counter to this prevailing paradigm: From the tranquil, tellingly autumnal acoustic opening and across comparable textures, the album burned with the intensity of a November coming fire.
Now, as the summer heat continues to blaze after the revelry of midsummer, Valravn return with a second full-length, The Awakening. Tellingly titled, The Awakening displays yet more sides to this still-unfolding entity. To be sure, Valravn‘s poise and power are firmly accounted for here – you can still FEEL every note, so vital, virile, and vivid – and they’ve even added a bit of death metalled muscle, too, but the songwriting itself is where their second album truly takes flight. Sharp and yet never sterile, thanks to a production that’s on the right side of polished, there’s an acute balance of contrasts across The Awakening‘s 44-minute runtime; each of the album’s eight songs features some twist of melancholy and militancy, of bursting color and bristling monochromatism, of stoic resignation and steadfast determination, of man-on-the-mountain spaciousness and stuck-in-the-catacombs claustrophobia. Concluding with the literally breathtaking “Charge of the Last Cavalry,” The Awakening consolidates all the strengths of its predecessor and indeed leads Valravn into a new charge for glory. The fires of Finnish black metal have yet to be vanquished!
Also hear the previously revealed “Charge of the Last Cavalry” HERE, also at Primitive Reaction‘s official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Valravn (Finland)’s The Awakening
1. The Black Flame [5:20]
2. Kehän Murtama [4:59]
3. Liekki Tiemme Valaisee [5:17]
4. The Great Deceit [4:02]
5. The Insolent [7:57]
6. Sisyphean Torment [3:55]
A Symphony of Horror [6:32]
8. Charge of the Last Cavalry [5:44]
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