I've always been a fan of the Kuopio, Finland-based duo LANTERN, and I have been following them for a few years now. Since their formation in 2007, through their demo days - releasing tapes such as "Virgin Taste of Damnation" and "Doom-scrawls", from 2008 until 2011 - to their very first EP "Subterranean Effulgence", and finally their very first full-length in 2013, entitled "Below". Working with Dark Descent Records since the beginning, both the band and the label have seen great outcomes from their collaboration. Not only they have put out a phenomenal record, but the label itself got a sick band that will hopefully release a lot more material in the future.

Between the two full-length albums, they also released a "Rehearsal '14", and then finally, in 2017 on March 17^th, their second full-length entitled "II: Morphosis" was finally released. It is evident that the band really take their writing to an amazing level with precision and patience - given that it took them four years to finish their latest effort - and I am certain that the time was definitely needed to create such an amazing record. Released by the aforementioned label (which just can't stop signing amazing bands) this album consists of nine very dark, relentless and brutal songs; and I'll be giving you a preview of them, if you never took the time to listen to them yourself.

Experimenting with lots of death, horror, occult and evil lyrical themes, LANTERN have become one of my favorite Finnish bands, and also somewhat an instant classic in the genre; and as the years pass, I am sure someone will look back and remember how great this band was! "Black Miasma" is the album's opening track, and it instantly manages to deliver a nice little opening riff, followed by some sweet bass lines and a brutal, short screams. The riffs very much adhere to the Death Metal genre, however you can't deny some Thrash influences that can be heard here and there. The time also comes for the vocals to start dominating completely over the instrumentals, and it's needless to say how good this song came out to be, although it is only the first one.

"Sleeper of Hypnagog" sounds exactly as you imagine it would - judging by the title, it's not only creepy but mysterious, haunting, and it gives you a blood-chilling intro, followed by vocals that are quite understandable and riffs that keep blasting, just like in the previous track. "Hosting Yellow Fungi" is more of a spacey track with a dizzy intro followed by a simple riff, and once again the vocals kick you right in your face, without any warning.

Although some songs are short, you can't say that all of them are - considering some are even five and some seven minute long. "Cleansing of the Air" is once again one of the longer songs, with creepy vocalizations that are echoing and pretty deep, guitar riffs that will haunt you, and furiously strong and characteristic drumming (in a style that is no doubt two decades old) and if that's not enough, the band adds a lot of other influences into their sound; for example, this song had a sick guitar solo, that was definitely different than the stuff they usually play. It's good to see their open-mindedness and strong musicianship.

"Necrotic Epiphanies" kills your ears in the first few seconds with a sharp buzz and then some more riffs that are not only energetic but raging and surprisingly fast, not relying too much on the slow side of Death Metal. Everything stops for a few moments and the song presents an interesting slow part, more 'ambient' than Metal. Five songs in and I had already heard various other elements in the band's sound, and if I were completely new to them, I'd still love what they have put on the table. "Transmigration" contains more of those understandable vocals, and although they might seem "clean", they are still inaudible on purpose, echoing slightly in the background and giving the instruments the leading position at the start. "Virgin Damnation" is a song with a hell of a beginning, starting with a nice dissonant tone and the instruments slow and quiet, giving the vocals the leading position once again. Almost a title-track, "Morphosis" starts and ends with bird chirping and other nature sounds - mostly a calm wind or something like that. It is a cute little song, to warm you up for the final terror, the ninth song - "Lucid Endlessness" - which once again starts with brutal vocals from the previous tracks, keeping the hellish atmosphere and the brutal position it originally had; this track is also the longest of them all - with seven minutes and nineteen seconds to its name. There is no doubt that this is a crushing way to end an album (with aggression); it ends as it began.

Although the album did slow down a few times on purpose, I can say that it is quite unstoppable and I really like it. I am super stoked to see what they come up with next. Hail LANTERN! If you are still unfamiliar with how they sound, and you like bands such as DEMIGOD, VORUM, PORTAL and BÖLZER, then definitely check them out.