Northern Genocide traces its roots back to Helsinki, Finland in the year 2010. Forging a sound of Modern Melodic Death Metal, they have spent well over a decade honing what that means to them. Lyrically, they explore dark topics, like overpopulation, pestilence, and other human flaws. As with many bands exploring the plague that is humanity, they take no prisoners in their criticism of how the human race is their own worst enemy. At this point in history, that man has likely killed more by their stupidity and greed than in the name of religion. Take a trip through this darkness and see what could be in store for the next generation. Northern Genocide will be that tour guide.

https://www.northerngenocide.com

Band Members:

  • Tommi Salonen – Vocals
  • Pyry Pohjanpalo – Lead Guitars
  • Jussi Pulliainen –Rhythm Guitars
  • Arto Viitanen – Bass
  • Leo Korhonen – Drums

Release Date:

March 1, 2024 – Inverse Records

https://www.inverse.fi

Tracklist:

  1. To Serve The Pestilence
  2. Kaamos
  3. Harbingers Of Genocide
  4. Icaros
  5. Luonnonsurma
  6. My Fortress
  7. Our Final Hour
  8. Para Bellum
  9. The Engram
  10. Necropolis feat. Tommy Tuovinen

Right from the very start, you hear the Modern and Melodic portions of the Death Metal this band fuses into their music. “To Serve The Pestilence” opens with keyboards that are more Power Metal than Death Metal. The guitars come in with a heavy riff that is offset by Melodic lead work, then the harsh vocals are paired with a clean female voice. There is a lot to unpack just in the first two minutes of the album. These dynamic contrasts continue throughout the entire album.

There is a lot of technicality to the guitar work, both in how they structure the riffs to couple with the bass and how they layer in the leads, fills, and solos. Add to this the blast beat drumming that is almost constant on the record and you get a wildly different take on Death Metal, thus adding in Modern and Melodic subgenres to better describe the overall sound. There is more to this, but adding in more terms would only muddy the waters more. Northern Genocide fuses in elements of almost a dozen different styles of Metal, proving you can bring in a ton of influences and make them work for you.

Whether the track is keyboard or guitar-dominant, there is a cohesive sound to every song on this album. There is also no difference if they are singing in English or Suomi. The sound and tone are consistent no matter what subgenre is the main tone for the song. They even bring in string arrangements a couple of times to draw in the symphonic sound that gives a more Black Metal feel. This is one of the better examples of genre blending that you will hear. There is a fluidity to the shifts that allows Northern Genocide to be more than just a Modern Melodic Death Metal band. I almost feel bad limiting them to this overly simplistic description. This is one you just have to hear to understand what I mean.

MZ Ratings:

Musicianship:

  •             Guitars – 10
  •             Rhythms – 10
  •             Vocals – 10
  • Songwriting – 9
  • Production – 9

Overall – 9.60