Kõukude Tants - Lyndanise Ood

Labels: Self-Released/Death Prayer Records

Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 28 Jun 2021

Tracklist:

1. Aadelkonna Etüüd

2. Lyndanise Ood

3. Sajatus - ole õnnistatud, pööbel

4, Klaasikillud ja tulised haavlid

5. Kõnts

6. Viimane vale - ehk katkuaja esimesed päevad

When I was invited to the Death Prayer Records listening party for the Solstice Pyre release, I was also invited to the subsequent listening party for the label's re-release of the 2021 EP from Estonian black metal band Kõukude Tants. To this day Lyndanise Ood exists as the only release to come from the duo, who are part of the Lyndanise Coven that also includes fellow Estonian black metal bands Lihunik, Soerd and Tomb Veneration. Where Solstice Pyre was more symphonic, Kõukude Tants deals in a sound that embodies rawness.

After a little break of sorts, the mundane way in which I’ve spent my bank holiday Monday has finally got the better of me. It has pulled me back to a release I listened to a couple of weeks ago for the first time. Lyndanise Ood struck me straight away with it’s true organic approach. The noisy blueprint laid down by Estonia’s Kõukude Tants is not dissimilar to that of their neighbours in Finland, which doesn’t come as a surprise given their obvious proximity. EP opener ‘Aadelkonna Etüüd’ sees the duo of Oraat Von Talyna and 

Presbüter (both whom provide guitar/bass/vocals) being accompanied by session drummer USB, whom I hope isn’t a real USB device for my sake! The trio performs black metal at it’s coldest, harking back to the genre’s early days here.

The title song ‘Lyndanise Ood’ comes across as being slightly more scaled-back musically, but due to that it allows the band’s personality to come across more obviously. Hints of industrial show through during the rhythmic mid-section and it’s slower tempo. The pace-shift works perfectly and makes the song sound no less harrowing. ‘Sajatus - ole õnnistatud, pööbel’ follows a similar trajectory, just with more dissonance. It doesn’t morph into any sort of progressive black metal number, so have no fear but it does show Kõukude Tants growing musically. 

Just as I talk about musical growth (albeit subtly), I’m brought back down with a thud thanks to the opening vocals of ‘Klaasikillud ja tulised haavlid’, which are rawness personified. The rest of the song continues in much the same vein, but with more of that dissonance I talked about earlier. There’s a slight nod to French black metal luminaries Deathspell Omega hidden within as well. Penultimate song ‘Kõnts’ is packaged up alongside the band’s more urgent/up-tempo songwriting, raising the heartbeat and the expectation for what’s to come from the EP’s closer.

‘Viimane vale - ehk katkuaja esimesed päevad’ is that closer and it rounds out Lyndanise Ood with a nod to death/doom as well as the now familiar black metal that makes up this EP. It’s an engrossing and enjoyable song (if that’s acceptable to say), as it shows how musically talented Kõukude Tants are. To sum this release up, I’d call it surprising in the best way. All music is subjective but when I first hit play on this, I wasn’t expecting it to be as atmospheric and as musical as it is.

Estonian black metal has a rich underground community and is up-and-coming. It’s important for fans of the genre to know that such bands exist. Popularity isn’t important, but the music is.

You can stream and purchase the EP digitally below, where it's also available to buy on tape and on vinyl:-

You can also purchase copies from Death Prayer Records here - https://www.deathprayerrecords.com/shop/

Kõukude Tants/Lyndanise Coven - https://www.facebook.com/LyndaniseCoven/

Death Prayer Records - https://www.facebook.com/deathprayerrecords