Hailing from Keski-Suomi, Finland arise the melodic black metal project entitled, ORFVS. Formed in 2010, the band has put out two demo pieces, and a recent EP entitled, "Ceremony Of Darkness," which was released June of this year. Within a four track EP, the project takes the listener to an unchartered journey of a musical landscape so in-depth that a listener dissolves into the brave notes of the keyboards that mimic the guitars. At the start of the EP, I understood the basics of ORFVS' intentions; their intangibility was that of raw unoriginality, typical for the genre. Yet as the release progressed, I found myself captivated in their minds of brackish waters that battled against harmonization and beauty with that of darker and somber sounds. Thus, their last track was their strongest. And in the same fashion, it was a combination of all their concepts over the previous three tracks morphed into an eight-minute track of perfected characteristics that I remain stunned. I have high hopes for ORFVS to continue to thrive and to make a full-length album sticking to most of their ideas in "My Heart Of Perdition," where the listeners can hear their voices.

The "Son Of Morning Sky," harmonizes with a rhythmic pattern of softened guitars that flow like water over luscious trees. Screams initiate the livelihood. Keyboards with an echoed and eerie unsettlement move along with the jazz-like understanding. With a pure rawness, the tone fades to monotony as the slow stillness of the piece drags its feet. The drums sound as if they were recorded in mono, and continue with a solemn steady beat. The vocal structure flows in deep growls over the piece. As the song fades, the keyboards hold a single note.

In a chaotic fashion, "Cruor MCMXCVIII" features guitars crawling their fingers in a less rooted fashion. The rhythm loses its atmospheric nature, and evolves into a rhythm that is rather intangible as the voice and drums dominate the creation. Spacious synths reinforce the guitar melodies as the song breaks down slightly. Off noted keyboards combat guitar feedback before the combination tumbles into a decaying entropy. In an EMPORER-like breakdown, the song suddenly succeeds in a realm of melodic tones and beatific ideas. The track breaks down once more in a slowed tempo of floating pleasurable guitars with synths echoing in the background in a high-pitched manner.

With a DRUDKH-like beginning, "The Void Around Anima Mnudi" guitars complement each other in a discourse of a fascinating simple yet layered tune. A guitar moves about its on its own, rising and falling throughout the piece in an echoed riff. In an ethereal formulation, a harmonizing creation comes forth with distinctness that rests in the underlying tones of the guitar. An ancientness revolves around the cornerstones of the playful guitars as the drums are set constant, and the screams casually occur. The originality of the track is palpable with majestic layers of guitars and bass that set the tone of a whimsical idea.

In a synth chorus of airy voices from a gentle realm, "My Heart Of Perdition" starts with a much different atmosphere from the previous. Higher pitched, and organ-like synths, a simple yet splendid melody dominates the ethereal, with harsh vocals overlying this. The pitch then shifts to a higher methodology with tremolo picking and casual drum beats to follow this. The designs then blend with one another to formulate a breath of an apparition from gloomy days past. A guitar riff exalts the tepid waters and directs in a natural speed with a complexity that is rooted in its purpose. Feedback halts and reforms the beauty into an acoustic picking of a placid construction. This evolves from scratch with bass notes, and then builds itself back up to its entropy it created before. For an ending to the EP, this track was exceptionally well done.

ORVFS' "Ceremony Of Darkness" is an intelligent formulation of rawness and beauty. In what began as predictable, abstract and unoriginal, built itself back up in pieces until their final track where the project proved its power. Even so, there were major errors with their recording, making some guitar parts sound more echoed than they should have, and though their transitions were well done, there were spaces where the project could have utilized them better. The instrumentation, especially the drums were done profoundly well done for their first EP, but for an album, their skills need to be honed. My hope for a lengthier album would be to refine the tones and reframe the pieces to cater towards the ending parts of the EP where the band exhibited more depth and control, whilst still maintaining its rawness. Nevertheless, ORVFS recombines older feelings of 90s black metal with a melodic twist, making it a fascinating piece to listen to.