AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: TOMB OF FINLAND — “SHADOWS OF THE NORTH”

This makes our second video premiere for a song off the forthcoming third album by Tomb of Finland, a record whose title — Across The Barren Fields — foreshadows some of its grave and grim moods and its occasionally expansive sweep. But the title doesn’t tell all, as you’ll learn from today’s new song, “Shadows of the North“.

In this newest track, delivered with a well-made video of the band’s performance, a fever burns in the darting riffage despite the song’s dark and ominous name. The music takes flight as the guitars soar like flames in the wind, though the mood even then is no less tormented. The delirium subsides and the music becomes both more forlorn and more mesmerizing — an unfolding of melancholy that quickly takes root in the mind.

But the fires ignite again, fueled by a gripping riff and a fret-melter of a solo, followed by a reprise of the hook-laden earlier riff that gave wings to the song’s opening burst of intensity. Throughout, the rhythm section pack the track with heavy-weight punch, and the vocals are relentlessly savage.

If you happened to miss our first premiere for the new album, we’ll take the liberty of presenting it again, and repeating some of the striking impressions it made on us.

That song, “Wretched Bliss“, was presented through a beautifully made video that takes the viewer on a journey of mystery, menace, magic, and madness. We follow the actions of a lone shirtless man who appears to be engaged in a ritual of incantations and blood, a ritual that spawns hallucinatory visions and the presence of a hooded figure who may not be of this world.

The man seems to spasm like a puppet on a string. He burns from the inside out, and perhaps what burns is his soul — as it is removed and encased in a different vessel, leaving his body a lifeless husk. Does he experience a wretched kind of bliss during the course of this experience, as the song title implies? You can be the judge of that.

Certainly, the song is a powerfully captivating one, heavy as hell and hard-hitting but also emotionally evocative and memorable. It’s a bit of a slow burn, led by an opening guitar lead that moans and wails above crushing chords and an earth-shaking rhythm that staggers and then rumbles. A jolting pulse develops as the crackle of savage vocals rear their hostile head, and a feeling of excitement comes through in the music as it rises in the chorus.

The lead guitar slithers through the song’s growing tumult like a serpent seeking prey, and abyssal vocals ring out in imperious tones, echoing the main line of those vicious snarls. An interlude follows, in which the music slows and creates a space for the beginning of a sorcerous guitar solo that then leads the song back into a reprise of the track’s most earth-heaving and soul-stirring moments of spectacle.

Across The Barren Fields is now set for release on August 19th by UPRISING! Records in a variety of formats: digital, CD, and LP vinyl (transparent orange/black, limited to 300 units). You’ll find pre-order links below.

TOMB OF FINLAND is:
Olli Suvanto – vocals
Jasse Von Hast – guitars
Mikko Hannuksela – guitars
Ville Kangasharju – bass
Janne Lukki – drums

PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM:
https://targetshop.dk/vare/tomb-of-finland-across-the-barren-fields-cd
https://targetshop.dk/vare/tomb-of-finland-across-the-barren-fields-lp

PRE-SAVE/PRE-ADD THE NEW SINGLE:
https://orcd.co/tomb-shad

FOLLOW TOMB OF FINLAND:
https://www.tomboffinland.fi/
https://www.facebook.com/TombOfFinland
https://www.instagram.com/tomb_of_finland/