August Moon has risen from the grave.
After a brief existence in the ’90s, the Finnish band currently made up of Mikko Sorja (bass/vocals), Peter Viherkanto (guitar) and Tom Henriksson (drums) came back to life some ten years ago, working on an EP, but above all on Something Eldritch and Macabre, their debut album, released in 2024 by Personal Records.
The album opens with the melodious introduction of In The Gallery Of All Things Macabre, but it soon becomes clear that the band is working in a darker, more technical form of Death Metal, with a fairly raw Old School mix. The band’s pace is rather irregular, but this allows them to play with tension before Exitus adds some catchy Black Metal touches to the sound’s fury, giving it a shade of darkness, but also passages with heady harmonics. As Cataclysms Swept Across The Cities follows, adding the liveliest passages a hint of epic Heavy Metal, but the ferocity still lingers, as does the futuristic final, which remains consistent with the composition, but also with Journey To Other-Worldly Realms And Beyond, the next, where all the savagery is quickly restored. This is strangely dissipated a little before the explosive final, which takes us by surprise and carries us through to Summoning Of The Feathered Serpent, where we once again sense the occult forces at work in the musicians’ assumed complexity. Retro keyboards bring in brighter elements to fuel the contrast also found on Constellations Dislodged From The Night Sky, with that slightly mad, jerky approach, but also plenty of lead parts dictating the rhythmic tone. The trio returns to sharp harmonics on Oannes – He Who Emerged From The Sea, giving its melodies more soaring touches, which fits with its occult theme but creates a contrast when the sound darkens, as on Something Eldritch Up in the Heavens Soon to Wreak Havoc Down on Earth, the next composition. Some of the riffs sound almost like a military march, but others carry our spirit away before joining The Vulture Stone (Pillar 43 To Commemorate The Apocalypse), which returns to ferocity most of the time, but offers us plenty of pauses to breathe and thus end the album.
August Moon‘s Old School approach is reminiscent of another band of the same origin, whose existence was also fragmented. Something Eldritch and Macabre does, however, offer an interesting diversity of sound, ranging from powerful Technical Death to floating moments, allowing us to enjoy it without being drowned out.
80/100