This has certainly been an interesting past few weeks for me, in terms of musical discovery; after having heard Finland's ORNE, I was unsure whether the country could conjure up yet another weird and wonderful band of such calibre; I was right to think that, from what I have seen, they have not. Because DEATH HAWKS take 70s Psychedelic Rock, and with it, push the musical envelop; as one could expect, the music sounds all too familiar, but at the same time, alien. I could go as far as saying that the music is too weird, too complex, too Psychedelic, for the average enjoyer of music as an art form, to appreciate; alas, I will try my best.

Whereas ORNE contained the odd metallic element here and there, DEATH HAWKS show nothing of the sort in their latest, self-titled release. The opening track, "Night Children", is a groovy, yet mystical boogie, where no real piece of the timbre is at the forefront; the drums, bass and guitar are modest, and the vocals are used, at the most, to atmospheric effect. In parts it almost sounds tribal, with its smooth, flowing and somewhat repetitive drum beat and guitar licks, but it effectively puts ones ears into shape to experience the rest of the record. The song "Cain Go Home" appears on the album twice; the second iteration is a shorter, more upbeat and entirely acoustic version. In its entirety it seems to act as a drawling interlude, with AMORPHIS-like chord progression accompanied by a simple whistle melody. The second iteration is purely shamanistic in nature and is far more trancelike. In the end, I don't feel like the acoustic album had much of a place on the album, even though I found it one of the more interesting tracks.

"Blind Daughter of Death" only features vocals for the first quarter and last quarters of the song - of which were airy, yet at the same time, droning. These passages were connecting by a transition between yet another groove-ridden piece, and a sweet, smooth, jazzy keyboard melody. "Grim Eyed Goat" was easily one of the two more rock-oriented tracks, where Teemu Markkula is bespoken like an aloof, tribal shaman in his creative vocal work, and the song is dominated by flowing, watery, yet rhythmic guitar licks. "Quiet Sun" basically feels like a slower version of "Night Children" at a very relaxed, almost dirge-like pace with a strongly Western-sounding atmosphere, and vocals almost reminiscent of TOOL. Finally, "Black Acid", my favourite track on the album, is memorable for a prevailing, catchy guitar lick that forms the basis of the song, and we hear the odd wistful, saxophone bleat. Groovy and melodic, it is a rolling, psych-trip from beginning to end.

Personally, I found this work quite hard to get into, but I am able to respect it for what it is, and also the creativity this band is capable of. While I personally would not care for listening to it on a daily basis, it is certainly music that deserves more widespread consideration, and fans of psychedelic rock will no doubt enjoy it.