BLACK BEAST - Arctic Darkness (LP)

BLACK BEAST - Arctic Darkness (LP)

Gatefold

Side A:
1. Intro 01:50
2. Black Magic and Witchcraft 04:27
3. Fullmoon 04:46
4. Sadistic Act in Demonic Lust 04:17
5. Four Days in Paradise of Fornication 03:25
6. Depths of Damnation 04:32
Side B:
7. Kuoleman Kylmästä Kosketuksesta 01:48
8. Night of the Arctic Darkness 03:21
9. I am He 03:16
10. Summon the Angels 05:17
11. Hymn of the Freezing Wind 10:28

47:27

PRIMITIVE REACTION is proud to present the highly anticipated second album of Finland's BLACK BEAST, Arctic
Darkness.
For many years, BLACK BEAST were the great "what if?" of Finnish black metal. Formed in 2002, when Finnish black metal
was just beginning to assert its dominance over the underground, BLACK BEAST released a self-titled 7" EP in 2005 and, a
year later, a split album with comrades Bloodhammer, which was the first release by a then-young PRIMITIVE REACTION.
Across both recordings, the then-duo exhibited a sound that slotted well alongside the prevailing Finnish paradigm, yet they
refreshingly exuded a Motorheaded aspect (or at least one Venomous) that was asskicking to the extreme.
Strangely, the name BLACK BEAST thereafter receded into the shadows, only to appear once again in 2019 with their longawaited debut album, Nocturnal Bloodlust. Now a power-trio, BLACK BEAST indeed picked up exactly where they left
off...and then pumped that quintessential Finnish black metal full of black magick, witchcraft, and (of course) nocturnal
bloodlust. The result was just as asskicking as before, charging hard and giving no quarter, but the trio also managed to lace
that waste with a tasteful touch of atmosphere, underlining that they truly are a BLACK METAL band above all.
Presumably here to stay, BLACK BEAST return to survey the carnage with second album Arctic Darkness. A simple-yetelegant title, Arctic Darkness is the sound of BLACK BEAST maximizing that atmosphere. The Motorcharge is most
definitely still there, as is the almost-sexual surge suggestive of classic Impaled Nazarene - grandfathers of both Finnish black
metal AND bringing back the Motorhead influence into black metal at large - but with a subtly subliminal glaze of synths and
a wider variation of tempos and general songcraft, the now-quartet march into new realms across this Arctic Darkness (bassist
Xilobye joined the band prior to the album); just witness the utterly EPIC ten-minute closer, "Hymn of the Freezing Wind,"
where clean 'n' chorused guitars play counterpoint to a sleazy four-on-the-floor beat...truly, this landscape is a much more
brazen one.
No more "what if?" and just more of WHAT IS, BLACK BEAST plant their feet firmly in the snow with Arctic Darkness.