The Mist from the Mountains - Monumental - The Temple of Twilight
Primitive Reaction
Melodic Black Metal
6 songs (37'43")
Release year: 2022
Reviewed by Alex

Finnish melodic black metal band The Mist from the Mountains may have a slightly weird moniker, but it does enlist in its ranks ex-members of Rapture (really like their Songs for the Withering) and Alghazanth (absolutely love their Wreath of Thevetat), and as a result I was probably looking for that familiar signature sound. The opener Empyrean Fields, after a quick folky entry, does deliver some fiery Finnish melodic black metal, but it is not as melodically intense as Algahzanth or archaically revolting and nasty as Azaghal, Horna or Sargeist. The Mist from the Mountains diligently and dutifully go through their melodic tremolo progressions, while alternating blastbeats and double bass. Latter track Master of Wilderness also has similar warring feeling, while A Paean to Fire is a more blasty affair with riffs invoking dreams of swirling cold blizzard with a note of synth blended in.

Yet after you spend more time with Monumental - The Temple of Twilight you can see how The Mist from the Mountains has an ability to surprise. Not needing corpse paint, or pictures taken in the middle of a snowy desolate forest, the band is certainly not afraid to experiment and come up with somewhat unexpected moments in their compositions. Thus Spake the Tongueless Serpent can pass as more epic, more evil and more Thy Serpent, where keyboards become even more prominent … until everything practically shuts down to shift to clean ambiance, 70s progressive lead and female vocals. With the Sun and the Skies and the Birds Above starts with a dark acoustic strum, only to deliver blasting, pain and anguish later. Yet once the song takes the shape of Winterfylleth A Valley Thick with Oaks from The Mercian Sphere The Mist from the Mountains decides to go full acoustic, before again finishing monumentally strong and melodic, befitting the album’s title. Similar acoustic strum opening After God brings out a symphonic touch, preachy black metal a la Deathspell Omega which hints at almost religious cult worshiping jubilance. Master of Wilderness, after starting rather straightforwardly, slips into a quick dreamy gothic before another buoyant finish.

The album may only be 37 minutes long, but it does provide diversity in the way light reflects from a multi surfaced gemstone. Monumental - The Temple of Twilight is definitely black metal but it has both its melodic and aggressive edges, as well as plain strange moments to make listening experience interesting.

Killing Songs :
With the Sun and the Skies and the Birds Above, Thus Spake the Tongueless Serpent, After God
Alex quoted 80 / 100
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