Jumalhämärä - Slaughter The Messenger

Jumalhämärä - Discover The Pigtail


I was just thinking about how Turisas might be a bit over the top for some people and how maybe I should make it up to those of you with a review of a more proper black metal record. In comes the amazing Finnish Jumalhämärä.

Well, I guess I wouldn't really call the black metal on Slaughter The Messenger "proper." It's actually a pretty weird and experimental type of metal. The first track, "The Swing," is pretty jazzy at times and also kinda bluesy and psychedelic. But all the while, this guy is still screeching and howling over the otherwise un-metal-like music and it's awesome.

Then the next song has one of the best titles ever (which seems to be the case with metal bands). It's called "Discover The Pigtail" and it's a bit more "regular" metal, albeit a proggy kind of metal with keyboards. Fucking fantastic.

"Dawn Saturnine," the last track, is the most straightforward black metal song on Slaughter. You got your thick guitars, nonstop pummeling drums, and you're growling vocals. I guess because of that, this is the least impressive song on the album. The first two had their own unique sound but "Dawn" could probably be any of the thousands of black metal bands out there that I've never heard. It's still really good, it's just that it doesn't follow the same weird/proggy/jazzy metal of the two previous songs.

It's a shame Slaughter is so short. There's only three tracks, not even breaking 20 minutes. But similar to Built By Snow's MEGA, this record is packed to the brim with awesomeness. I have never heard anything quite like Jumalhämärä. This is some special stuff guys. Keep an eye out.