Band: Sotajumala

Title: Teloitus

Label: Woodcut Records

Distribution: Hard Life Promotion

Release date: June 2008

Review: CD

The Finnish horde Sotajumala (meaning ‘war god’), with (ex) members of, for example, Alghazanth, Unveiled and Obscurant, started ten years ago and did release their very well-received debut album, Death Metal Finland, in 2004 (which did follow two lesser known mini-albums). Last year the band recorded the second full length studio release, which goes completely on in the vein of the former one. For thirty nine minutes, Teloitus brings mostly fast, ultra-heavy and intense Death Metal with a modern sound yet also a certain old school-oriented touch of brutality. The sometimes almost grinding tracks (yet much less grinding than any former material) all are very technical (composition and performance), yet the tempo-changes make the whole digestible. Also the guitar solos (normally I’m not that pleased by Finnish ‘guitar-virtuosity’) are of a splendid level. The vocals efforts by M. Luukkainen are of a great level too: extremely deep and deadly sick / sickened / sickening, with a few grinding screams. Sotajumala’s terrific craftsmanship may draw comparison to other Finnish bands as Scent Of Flesh, Deathbound and Amoral, yet I guess the main influences come from the American scene: Nile, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Six Feet Under and so on, flavoured with a hint of Bolt Thrower and a twist of Entombed. For the interested ones: Teloitus was produced by Sami Koivisto, whom you might know from his professional assistance with bands as Alghazanth, Rotten Sound and Deathbound, to name a few.

81/100

Ivan Tibos.