Someone should rewrite the textbook definition of ‘heavy metal’ to just one word: Finland. Metal is so popular in this majestic winter wonderland it is reported to have the highest concentration of heavy metal bands in the world (with an estimated 70.6 bands per 100,000 people). If my math is correct, in a land of over just five million people, that is a whopping 3530 bands. Of course, with so many bands, it would be an impossible task to keep up with all them. Among this plethora of bands is Iisalmi, Pohjois-Savo-based band, Hautajaisyö. Through a very consistent output of material (four full-length albums in just under ten years) and an uncompromisingly heavy death/thrash approach that can go toe-to-toe with any band in the sub-genre, these guys have quickly dug their way to the top of this massive heap of Finnish bands.

Hautajaisyö (which translates to ‘Funeral Night’) celebrate their 10th anniversary with a brand new EP, on which they have re-recorded three old songs and also dug through their old demo era songs and re-recorded the song ‘Loppu On Lähellä” (End Is Near)’ for this special release. The EP begins with the latter-mentioned track, which sounds like it could have been written today. Even though the song is over ten years old at this point, it does have a timelessness to it. One can definitely hear the beginnings of the band’s unique take on death/thrash with the very Slayer-esque riff that opens the song. It is then that the song shifts into something akin to early Amon Amarth (when said band was far heavier), particularly as it relates to the galloping stomp of the rhythm section. Even the vocals of Janne Partenen are reminiscent of a younger, more guttural Johann Hegg. The song ends with a massive breakdown/pitriff that clearly shows just how brutal this band can actually get.

‘Uneenkuiskaajat’ is the song one would expect when mashing together late 80s Bay Area thrash à la Exodus and Testament with the groove of a Burn My Eyes-era Machine Head, all wrapped up in a distinctly European death metal package. It should also be noted that the bass sound on this album is definitely in your face, with a twang and percussiveness not unlike early Sadus. ‘Minä Olen Vain Puu’ chugs and gallops its way through some incredibly memorable old-school death metal riffage while also channeling the classic thrash extremity of Forward To Termination-era Sacrifice and very early Kreator. The guys end things with ‘Mieleni Varjoissa’ which, once again, delivers the bulldozing death metal of early Amon Amarth, yet also introduces some epic Immortal-like tremolo riffing. If that weren’t enough, at about mid-way through the track guitarist Sami Lustig drops some nihilistic, chromatic string work not unlike Suffocation.

To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect with these guys… and what I got was definitely not what I had expected. Going in with a preconceived idea of what Finnish metal should sound like, well, Hautajaisyö proved me wrong. En Murru En Taivu is an EP packed full of both American-made death/thrash with a European and Scandinavian flare. All this has managed to do is whet my appetite for more of these guys. So, with that said, time to bury myself in their back catalog while also salivating for their next full-length!