Pieced together from bursts of fleeting inspiration, fragments captured in muttering passage from the stasis of sleep ’til waking, these solemn verses follow us in readiness for the melancholia which precedes hibernation. Jyväskylä, Finland-based black metal duo BLOOD RED FOG spread their dreary melodicism in four increasingly grand waves on this seventh full-length album. A deeper step into the surreal and sorrowful unknown ‘Marrasv​ä​et‘ is once again ingrained with the self-directed search and compile of the artist yet the beast which arises from the haze is sleekened, fastidiously realized yet patient in the reveal of this extended conversation.

Blood Red Fog formed as a solo act circa 2004 by way of B.R.F. (John the Baptist, Sammas’ Equinox, ex-Funerary Bell) and beyond (technically) two full-lengths and a 2008 EP the lineup would expand to at least a duo on each recording since. The first four albums, if we include the recently unearthed 2006-recorded ‘Vampir‘ as an early starter, consisted of a transition from a depressive atmospheric black metal sound toward their own melancholic brew of classic melodic forms and longform droning nausea. From my point of view all of these albums are necessary to view the full movement from “bedroom” black metal heinousness to their own tempered self-built ideation but it was the ushering of loose forms on ‘On Death’s Wings‘ (2014) toward the sublime mania of standout ‘Thanatotic Supremacy‘ (2018) that’d rightfully first caught ears outside of their dark circle. While it might seem pretentious to consider this the complete developmental phase of the project I’d only do so to suggest that the two records released beyond that point have been cumulative of those formative works, additive as well as revisionary in their search for a blend of melodious rhythm guitar movements and hypnotic synth-bound dread.

Thoughts away from the noise, breakthroughs crystallized during brief periods of quietude, are the atmosphere and the modus as the artist accesses their world in a pre-subconscious state for lyrics which reflect a shadowy dreamlike realm. In this way the tone and temperament of ‘Marrasv​ä​et‘ separates itself from the droning, at-times caustic sensations of Blood Red Fog‘s sixth LP (‘Fields of Sorrow‘, 2020) as they hone in on four longform pieces slightly more akin to the fundaments of their early 2010’s era where atmosphere and melodicism take precedence over the bite of the riffs on the previous two releases. If you are a fan of Nécropole and related projects and enjoy some adventurous synth in black metal a la Cosmic Church consider this record less driven by immediacy and confrontational lines, instead anticipate more of the depressive rock spiritus and melodic black metal ruminations to dominate the landscape on album number seven.

The guitar is the main emotional aspect, the voice of suffering and seclusion, that pushes away deeper with every line as the artist revels in their own 90’s atmoblack gloom and dejection, leaning into remarkably catchy but not moderne or cloying hooks in the midst of the wandering, spaced vision Blood Red Fog‘ve brought to their work in some increasing dosage over the years. Opener “Musta Maja” finds this voice immediately (see: ~2:19 minutes in) and the album races along this set path for its first three glom of pieces, or, Side A essentially; It is worth mentioning This is also the first album of theirs in recent memory to not feature Profundiis (Funerary Bell) on keys, as they’d left beyond ‘Fields of Sorrow‘ as far as I know, yet we find the keys/synth as an even more vital point of atmospheric and leading interest this time around.

The shakily dripping crystal-tones that introduce “Elon kieltäjä” and eventually feed the bounding step of the piece’s rhythmic upswing recall the late second wave to my ear, an appreciation for the ghostly and weirding side of keyboard-assisted black metal for a piece which to me feels very fittingly tuned (er, mixed) by Trollhouse Audio in that sense. This is something somewhat unique for Blood Red Fog, a patience which is even more commanding than some of the loftier pieces on the previous LP. Not only do we find their work more directly melodic in stride and its emphasis of a more concretely present rhythm section and an uptick in keyboard/synth feature but the use of guitar effects is worth mention for its emphasis on the shoegazing atmo-black drain of it all (see: “Jäiset kynnet”.)

The droning, surreal ambiance generated in the midst of ‘Marrasv​ä​et‘ finds its heady peak for my own taste around the middle of the third song though the second half of the album eventually finds its point of overflow. In a bout of cosmically charged extension into the unknown the first four or so minutes of “Pohjan väen nostatus”, the ~23 minute closing piece and second half of the album, we gain access to the full psychedelic rock-gazing endpoint of this lucid dream unto death before the final ten minutes of the song rally into irregular flow. While there are more coherent, contained longform statements available to the mastery of the first three songs on this album the closer and its elaborate detangle is a brilliant way to break up the thread and make something even bigger in feature from its parts. These observations extend to the full listen, an experience which stands tall on its four legs, accumulates only freshly profound statements, and ultimately sets a new standard for Blood Red Fog and their long developed singularity. A high recommendation.

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