Formed in 2022, Finland's VICTIMARUM quickly set to work on upholding the sterling standards of their nation's underground black metal scene. With strength & honor and Satanic black devotion, the quartet here unload nine screeds of melancholic misery set to speeding stun. Incensed but not without a certain sense of ragged glory, VICTIMARUM uphold that iron-clad template set out by their forebears and bolster it with strong songwriting and even-stronger execution. The sounds may be familiar, but as the album plays on, the Finns' personality shines through, with deft shifts in tempo and a slightly-more-pronounced propensity for the climatic coming to the fore. Likewise, they wisely locate a production style that's on the right side of polished, the grit coming not through the sound itself but rather through the playing: you FEEL this, every second of its 44-minute runtime.

"Alkusoitto" is the first track; a short introduction of darkness leading to "Hovissa yön ruhtinaan." Aggression is too tender of a word to describe what come out of the gate. It's like a massive fireball from Hell, scorching everything in its path. There is an infernal quality to the song, as if it comes from Satan's personal playlist. "Tulenkantaja" is another intense song with vocal screams that could wake the dead. The raging fire never lets up either, and it's a blistering pace from start to finish. "Seitsemän soihdun valossa" has a slower pace but the grind remains the same. It's the kind of grind that can wear you down and if it goes on long enough, it can reduce your being to ashes. "Kuolemalle" takes the album back to the black thicket of aggression we heard on earlier songs. It's as if the band depressed the gas pedal the whole way to the floor and held it there throughout.

"Iäti vuoksesi" has another fast moving and aggressive sound, and it seems that they band is Hell bent on shoving this down your throat. You have to admire their commitment in that regard. "Verimyrsky" is another song that sounds like they poured accelerant on an already raging fire, and the intensity of the vocal screams is underscored. "Ilmestysten Kuningas" is the final act. The key changes, but the blistering tempo doesn't. There are even some somber melodies buried within the hardened sound, but you really have to work for them. Overall, this was an album that just burned from start to finish, and "melancholy misery" is an apt word for the collection of songs. A little more diversity could have taken the album further, but I admire their commitment to their sound.