One thing is for certain: the Finnish sludgelords, LÄHDÖN AIKA, do not play it safe. I mean, I wasn’t a total stranger to their post-metal-tinted conduct, but their new album “Mustalle Maalle,” released independently on May 23rd, 2025, hit me with a surprise jab right off the bat. These guys have been around for 20-something years already but it was relatively recently that they popped on my radar with their EP releases, either with “Hourevuode” (2023 ) or “Valonaara” (2021), and with me being a total sucker for anything sludgey and post-whatever, they sure made a good first impression with their somewhat CULT OF LUNA-esque approach to post-hardcore sprinkled with nice doom elements. This new outing is by far more experimental than those previous installments in the band’s album catalog, seasoning the band’s signature sludge with some snarling black-metal vocals that resonate with an almost ORANSSI PAZUZU-like air, and then plunging headlong into slow-crushing, Lovecraftian ambience here and there. Mixed with the band’s original post-hardcore spirit, the tree rings of atmospheric post-metal, doom, and these novel black-metal leanings create a sense that you’re listening to a band caught in the act of refining its true voice to a league of its own.
LÄHDÖN AIKA has flirted with experimentalism before, sure, but to open the album with a 2-minute sonic treatise on desolate, ambient black metal is quite a bold move by any standard. It has been a while since the last time a song has sounded this evil. “Kuolla” opens the album with a sonic gut punch reminiscent of the aural violence on that legendary double-album box set, “Torture Garden / Leng Tch’e” (1996), by NAKED CITY. The song title translates as “To Die,” so it figures. Still, judging by the song titles recalling those of, say, vintage RYTMIHÄIRIÖ, I wasn’t expecting anything like this for sure. Nice!
The novel black-metal approach is even more intense on the follow-up track, “Et Enää Mitään.” The song resonates with nothing short of an evil aura, too, somewhat reminiscent of ORANSSI PAZUZU. The hypnotic riffing offers the best of both worlds, in a way – you get the widescreen immersiveness of post-metal and then there’s the raw abrasive edge of black metal, further reinforced by the snarling vocals. Vocalist Eeli drops some chants as well as more throaty vocals further into the song, the kind that you usually associate with post-metal, almost as if to prove my point.
So, two tracks into the album, we’ve got rather prominent black-metal vibes piercing through the music. Has the band gone entirely AWOL? Fear not, they haven’t. The next couple of tracks harken back to the band’s familiar sound, with “Tuli Antaa Tietä” and “Teuraaksi Kastettu” resonating with the subtle air of CULT OF LUNA, with which I have become accustomed to associate the band, more or less. Conveniently, the influence is not that in-your-face, especially when the vocals gear up on the black-metal shrieks. The hymn-like riff maelstrom, “Viilto,” nods perhaps even deeper toward the post-metal conduct of those Swedes, what with the tribal drumming and slow-crushing riffs, but the vocals, once again, soon dissolve that feel – Eeli‘s throaty singing resonates with a tad rawer edge.
The band hasn’t forgotten about flirting with the doom aesthetic either. “Ikeestä” slows down the tempo a good few notches into the doom-metal register, although the vocals refrain from going full-on guttural but rather opt for a menacing chant-like approach. It almost seems as though the band has made it a priority to sound particularly evil on this album. The song’s coda picks up the pace pretty nicely, echoing the black’n’roll of bands such as SÓLSTAFIR.
The only proper way to close an album like this is to drop an 11-minute sludge epic, of course. “Ihmishaketta” challenges some of the most iconic post-metal marathons of the scene, both international and Finnish, and by doing so, it cements “Mustalle Maalle” as one of the most promising new acts of 2025. Can I say “new act” about a band that’s been around for more than 20 years? Well, I guess I can, as LÄHDÖN AIKA isn’t yet making the waves it bloody well deserves to be making. I reckon the Finnish post-metal scene isn’t as saturated as it used to be, at the moment, what with all the vintage household names and underground scenelords either having quit or gone hibernating on an indefinite hiatus. So, it’s a damn good thing to know that LÄHDÖN AIKA keeps the engines humming with some high-quality stuff.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Kuolla
- Et Enää Mitään
- Tuli Antaa Tietä
- Teuraaksi Kastettu
- Paina Pääsi Alas
- Viilto
- Ikeestä
- Ihmishaketta
Lineup
Eeli – vocals
Akseli – guitars
Aki – guitars, vocals
Anna – bass
Sampo – drums
Label
Independent
