With the band having been formed only last year, 2016 already sees the debut release from Finnish Death Metal band KHANUS. Entitled "Rites of Fire", this EP deals with shamanistic and folkloric themes running through the songs. Setting out to explore "the boundaries of matter, spirit, consciousness and the universe with the Metal of death", it might come as no surprise that KHANUS's music uses organic sounds to create trance-like soundscapes with a Death Metal undercurrent; a pretty unusual idea.

Just shy of a quarter of an hour, a total of four songs make up this EP. Relying heavily on creating a ritualistic atmosphere, various influences are woven into the melodies, adding a blend of different sounds to the underlying brutality. Borrowing sounds from different genres here and there, what we have is perhaps not the most original song writing to grace the world of Metal, but nevertheless, KHANUS does have a certain allure. "Womb of the Larger Self" is a trippy experience from the word go. Discordant guitars are added to the guttural backbone provided by the vocals, creating a morass of dis-harmonics that suck you into this swaying song. "Orgone" on the other hand sounds like something being summoned from a primordial swamp, with repetitive Death Metal riffs being used to create a swirling hurricane of sound. Perhaps a little to repetitive in my opinion, the guitar work here can become a little tedious and strained at times. "Daughters of Fire" takes on a similar sound, although the vocals are far more dominant on this song. The guitar work is also more scattered and chaotic, adding a pandemonium-tinged feel of madness to the song. The final song "The Rites of Sacred Ecstacy" is another really short one, using chanted vocals and minimalistic elements to weave together a tribal sounding song that really brings the ritualistic atmosphere of this album to life.

"Rites of Fire" is definitely not an album that will cater to everyone's tastes, although it is something that I can imagine would be pretty enthralling if combined with certain illicit substances. The lack of variation creates a sound that isn't particularly memorable, although the EP is strong enough to warrant keeping an eye on KHANUS's future. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next. Sadly already sold out are the 50 hand-numbered first edition cassettes, so if you're a fan, be sure to get your hands on the limited CD edition of this album, restricted to a mere 300 copies whilst there is still stock. And watch out for the debut full-length album, due to be released later this year.