From the dark, dreary, dismal landscape of a thousand lakes and freezing winters of Finland hail SOLOTHUS, an old school Epic Doom/Death Metal band. The band actually established itself in the year 2007 and went through several years of inactivity. They have endured through a mountain of line-up changes for a variety of reasons from them not living in the same cities, to military service! Their debut album, "Summoned From The Void", garnered a lot of interest in the underground metal scene in their native Finland. In the year 2015, they signed to Doomentia Records, and began working on recording their second outing, "No King Reigns Eternal", which released in 2016 along with a vinyl edition of " Summoned From The Void". The band gets its name from bacteria found in the frigid, frosty tundra of Finland called Bacteria Solothus Maleficium. If you do get infected by one of these, you will get a terrible fever while your eyes exude copious amounts of blood and you will die a horribly painful death.

"The Betrayer", the first track of the album starts of with a simple melody that sets the mood for the main riff. With short bursts of lead guitars interweaved in the songs, it is a 6-minute saga of betrayal and revenge. "No King Reigns Eternal", the title track and the second song, begins with a furious and fast paced melody before grinding to a slow creeping melody. A song about a traitorous king who slowly descends into madness and ruination, this melancholy dirge clocking just less than 6 minutes, is an example of the restraint and maturity the band shows. It has thrashy interludes with brilliant solo guitar work that works in the song's favor. "Towers in the Mist" groans into life with a riff that can almost be classified as a blues based melody. The middle section is a pacy thrashy melody that is simple and effective. The song talks about the arrival of a dark lord from dimensions unknown that heralds that death and destruction to a woeful world. The last track of the album," The Winds Of Desolation", is the longest song in the album clocking just over 10 minutes. A song about death, this epic and desolate track is somber and grim. At times, the melody stops to an almost stand still and lets the audience take in the despondent barrenness the song talks about. This track has perhaps the best lead of the album that justifies the bleakness that the riff induces.

SOLOTHUS approaches their sound in a brutal doom laden method. I am for one am glad they didn't go the Gothic way, which sometimes just feels comical almost. Deliberate, sluggish riffs paired with raspy thick vocals form a very gloomy soundscape. Sludge filled melodies moving at glacial pace set the tempo for this minimalist album. They do just about enough to keep the listening engrossed and enjoy the onslaught. Eerie, grim and macabre, the songs set the tone and the mood for one hell of a putrid, rank onslaught. The guitar solos in the album is a surprising revelation and its stands out loud and proud. The band intends to tour in the coming months and have a more or less stable line-up, which definitely helps, and also record. Must have for Epic Doom/death Metal fans.