Havukruunu – Tavastland
Release Date: 28th February 2025
Label: Svart Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Pagan Black Metal, Folk Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal.
FFO: Malokarpatan, Kvelertak, Moonsorrow, Bathory, Moonlight Sorcery.
Review By: Rick Farley
How this Finnish quartet has managed to fly under my radar this long is a complete mystery to me. This is admittedly my first exposure to this remarkably diverse, engaging band. Havukruunu is one part pagan black metal, one part folk metal, power metal and traditional heavy metal all wrapped up in a grandiose fight to the death with your swords type of epic soundscape that’s beautifully written and executed with a warring, brutal vigour. Now whether or not this album, Tavastland is any kind of departure from previous albums is unknown to me at the moment. I only briefly skimmed through the other three albums, and they seem to lean a little more into the pagan black metal territory more so than this record does, but I could be wrong. This feels evolved to me based on what I briefly heard. I will say this, there’s plenty of blackened wickedness here for black metal fans, but there’s also a large amount of grandeur that’s as triumphant sounding as it is huge in scale. Let’s dig in.
Tavastland is Havukruunu’s fourth full length album, which is being released via Svart Records on February 28th, 2025. This album shifts its moods from fiery and dark to mesmerizing and mysterious, making it exceedingly difficult to pin down in genre and style. Vicious black metal, sword wielding, victorious heavy metal, galloping riffs, chanting choirs, duelling solos and whimsical folksiness. It’s all here in abundance, and it’s magnificent. Anthemic black metal shockingly works.
“Tavastia (Tavastland) which is a historical province in the south of Finland tells the story of how in the year 1237, the Tavastians rose in rebellion against the church of Christ and drove the popes naked into the frost to die. Tavastland reveals our father’s century old sins and lies of consolation.” Seems a bit bleak.
This is an album that surely comes across as a journey taken, and a story told, giving the listener the feeling of harsh cold landscapes, wondrous majesty and stirring lore. Everything is sung, growled, and screamed in Finnish, adding another level of authenticity to the story. Opening track Kuolematon
Laulunhenki (translated to The Immortal Spirt of Song) begins with a crunchy, foot stomping, groovy riff that’s nearly impossible to ignore. It ramps up its intensity to scorching black metal tremolo picking and blast beats, leading to a galloping thrashiness with growling and clean toned chanting. Ripping solos and tons of heavy metal swagger makes this a perfect opening track. Yönsynty has a punky kind of rock vibe similar to Kvelertak in places and traditional metal chugging in others. The bassline moves along purposefully, while anthemic melodies dance gloriously over top. The double bass pounds strong through to the last minute, while the torrid riffs guide the way. Unissakävijä is a frosty blast of blackened thrash at breakneck speed. The transitions from blistering to metallic, spidery black metal are seamless. The tortured screams backed by the majestic soundscape are daunting and haunted. The track ends just as furiously as it began.
Havukruunu hasn’t made a record for every black metal fan, but I assure you this record is top-notch if you have an open mind. The production is extremely clean with a treble heavy guitar tone. There’s plenty of bass and low end, but at loud volumes this is a bit tough on the ears. That’s my only complaint. Otherwise, the clarity and warmth are spot on. Tavastland is a super fun record to listen to and at fifty plus minute runtime, you barely feel it. It absolutely makes me want to bang my head, rage with warring cries and fist pump the sky with my free hand while my blood soaked sword is tightly gripped in the other. This sounds like victory.
(4.5 / 5)
