Band:	Vorna
Album:	Aamunkoi
Style:	Melodic black metal, Pagan folk metal
Release date:	April 2023

01. Hiljaisuus Ei Kestä
02. Harva
03. Valo
04. Aika Pakenee
05. Kallioilla
06. Muualle
07. Raja
08. Meri
09. Aamunkoi

Vorna are a Finnish pagan folk metal band with meloblack tendencies, and for this past decade have been on a roll. Now, that should be enough to entice you.

So, here's Vorna, yet another joyously melodic folk metal act from Finland, the land of metal and ice, as I call it. As we all should know by now, Finland is a country famous for producing acts on a wide range of the metal spectrum. You can certainly say the Finns are no strangers when it comes to introducing bands containing substantial elements of folk. Bands such as Moonsorrow, Ensiferum, Amorphis (and I could be here all day naming them) for instance. Well, Vorna are also an act that rightfully belongs to such a list.

Having a string of top quality releases under the belt, one after another, is a sure sign of telling that a band has developed a great level of consistency; this seems to be a common factor for many renowned Finnish metal bands. Vorna are a band that has also been on such a fine run, before this latest release, Aamunkoi, they had three impressive albums under their belt, starting with the impressive 2013 debut Alastaika. You could say Vorna has slightly improved each over their last four releases following their debut, so going by form, Aamunkoi should be a terrific release, right?

Well, Aamunkoi is certainly not a bad release, it mostly contains the same elements that made their past releases as good as they were. The structure contains the usual meloblack and epic pagan folk elements, featuring melodious riffs, soaring choruses, and effectively light synth work. The lyrical content is, of course, presented in the band's mother tongue, Finnish. The vox is presented through the form of both aggressively harsh, and passionately clean vocals. So, it very much sounds like previous albums, however, the songwriting does noticeably differ from previous albums. Overall, the album is somewhat softer; more emphasis has gone into the folkish side of things, rather than the extreme metal elements, meaning the use of cleans is present more, and there are several lengthier acoustic and softly melodic keyboard passages, as well as a heavier use of folkish instrumentation featured throughout.

The opening track begins with an imposing acoustic folk melody, reminding me of "Heathen Tribes" from Primordial's classic album To The Nameless Dead. The passionate folkish clean vocals can be included in that style, until the meloblack elements kick in, in which the soaring heavy riffs and harsh vocals take over. So, what a solid start we have here. Now, as great of a start we have, the album doesn't, however, keep up with the same fashion throughout. Numerous tracks do fall short of the high expectations following their all impressive previous three releases, but there are also several highlights along the way which more than make up for that slight dip in quality. If there's one track I find really stands out, it's the stunning soft folkish ballad-like track “Kallioilla”. The track features a soft poetic vocal style, and the traditional folkish elements are more prominent here than any other track. It opens with a beautifully constructed piano section, and there are noticeable symphonic orchestral parts also, adding a certain epic feel.

The following track, “Muualle”, has an entirely different approach. The structure heavily leans towards meloblack, and harsh vocals are clearly more prominent. The riffs are much heavier, and the cleans don't come into the mix nearly as often, and are clearly more upbeat. This is a track that gives me a slight sense of Amorphis in the songwriting approach, and there are several tracks similar in style throughout the album.

Overall, would say Aamunkoi is more of a hit than a miss, but perhaps just falling short of their true capabilities. However, this is only the band's fourth release, and certainly not a bad one, so fans of meloblack, and Finnish pagan folk can still expect great things from Vorna in the future.