KAAMOS WARRIOS is a band from Kempele, a small municipality near Oulu in northern Finland. Active since 2018 as a duo, the band has released its second full-length album, ”Shadows of Northern Chaos,” as a three piece line-up under the Finnish label, Inverse Records, in early November 2019.
Though the genre that KAAMOS WARRIORS belongs to could simply
be labeled as black metal, a more complex definition seems to be necessary when listening to the most recent release.
Their moniker is, in fact, a clear referral to darkness that seems to dominate the whole concept: “kaamos” is a peculiar Finnish word that stands for “polar night,” the time of the year between November and January when, in the Arctic regions, the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon and everything is surrounded by darkness and coldness. This feeling perfectly summarizes what KAAMOS WARRIORS’ music is about, hence “dark metal” might be a better definition.
The album’s first track is “Wolves in the Storm” and it sounds like some kind of an intro, due to its short duration and straightforwardness. The main riff and the vocals immediately show how highly skilled this guys are, when it comes to build catchy yet obscure tunes that easily become what we usually call “earworms.”
Several classic Nordic black metal influences are spotted with some death-oriented features, in fact, the whole work is on the edge between death and black metal: in that sense, along with Nordic black metal, BEHEMOTH’s influence is quite strong, in particular in the second track, “Chaos Walks the Earth.”
The third song, “Chaos & Mayhem,” takes the listener off-guard because of its black ‘n’ roll oriented riffing, which contributes toward giving the whole album variety and freshness, so to speak. The vocals, in contrast, seem to come straight from the grave, evoking chaos in the form of something none could never escape from.
“Ruined by Plague” is characterized by a doomish approach, where the guitar solo and the relentless drumming lead to an eerie and grim vortex, enforced by the vocals, always utterly dark and haunting.
Title track “Shadows of the Northern Chaos” shows a more traditional classic black metal structure and atmosphere. The fast-paced main riff creates an interesting contrast with the melancholy of the melodic elements. Without a specific verse/chorus/verse pattern, this track becomes quite unique.
Penultimate track “Ruins of Hope” has folkish approach, reminiscent of UNLEASHED and early BEHEMOTH, and makes the whole atmosphere a bit easier, surely compared to the last song. “Moon and stars” leads the listener into the awareness of humankind’s sense of nothingness with its doomish and melancholic atmosphere.
In the end, “Shadows of Northern Chaos” is a rather good album and KAAMOS WARRIORS prove to be very talented at combining an extreme approach with a typical Nordic, melancholic sound that involves many different elements without losing focus.
Written by Licia Mapelli
Lineup
Mikko
Ojala – vocals, guitars
Jani
Moilanen – guitars (lead/acoustic)
Jyri
Moilanen – bass
Tracklist
- Wolves In Storm
- Chaos Walks the Earth
- Chaos & Mayhem
- Ruined by Plague
- Shadows Of Northern Chaos
- Where Shadows Grow
- Ruins Of Hope
- Moon & Stars
Label
Inverse Records
