Black Metal. WEREWOLF RECORDS is proud to present a special compilation from FORGJORD titled Tie, Totuus & Kuolema!
For years one of Finnish black metal's best-kept secrets, in recent times have FORGJORD sprung to prominence among the adventurous as practitioners of a strangely alluring sort of obsidian. Although existing since the mid '90s and patiently parceling out their recordings in an almost-clandestine manner, the upswing in activity began with FORGJORD's third album (and first with WEREWOLF), Uhripuu, in 2017 and was followed by the equally challenging Ilmestykset in 2019, the comparatively more rockin' Laulu kuolemasta a year later, and the draw-everything together Ruumissaarna Pt. 1 in 2022. Among those four full-lengths, the Finnish trio solidified and strengthened their strident aesthetic - malodorous melodicism, hypnotically rendered through a ripped-raw soundfield, making their strangely hummable ruminations on triumph & tragedy sound all the more alien, each album unified yet unique within that aesthetic - and made it all seem effortless. Finally, it seemed that the name FORGJORD was no longer a "secret."
No better time, then, to exhume the graves of the past with Tie, Totuus & Kuolema. While newcomers to the band's sound might find this collection of recordings from over 20 years ago a bit caustic and crude comparative to their most recent work, the seven songs presented on this special compilation indeed underline that FORGJORD's aesthetic was firm from the very beginning; it only took time to become more harnessed - and, arguably, weirder. Taken as a totality, Tie, Totuus & Kuolema works as both stark contrast and counterpoint, both embellishment of and the very original issue.
Founding guitarist / bassist Valgrinder explains the story behind the comp: "Tie, Totuus & Kuolema (English: "The Way, the Truth & the Death") ain't new FORGJORD album, but a peek into the band's early years. It presents us when we were finding our shape as two members and when things were finally starting to work. It shows the anger, hunger, and rage when the flame was pure and bright in our young band's heart. Tie, Totuus & Kuolema was FORGJORD's first demo recording session, which never got officially published. Less than 20 tapes were sent to various zines and labels as a promo - so few that we never heard back from any of those. But because of our lack of connections, it was never sold to an audience, even though that was the plan in the first place. The demo was recorded in our first rehearsal place, in the attic of an old institution. During the recording sessions, we recorded several songs that were left out of the demo, and they are finally presented here. Also, several four-track rehearsal songs before the demo sessions are presented. Note that these aren't the same versions that are on the Henkeen ja Vereen full-length, but unreleased ones from the band's vault."
To conclude, Valgrinder emphasizes, "Do not see this as a new FORGJORD album or as a demo re-release, but more like a peek into the band's early years - to understand where we have come from, and where our roots are. The sound is cruel, the playing is cruel, but the energy is hellish. This is how FORGJORD sounded almost a quarter-century ago."