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250x black 12" (140g) with full-color (4/0 CMYK) labels in a black poly-lined innerbag, INSERT: 2pp., full-color (4/4 CMYK/CMYK) on 250gsm offset paper, SLEEVE: simple pocket, full-color (4/1 CMYK/K- black flood inside) on 350gsm uncoated (matte) w-w stock, 3mm spine, all assembled in a PVC overbag (vinyl aside of the sleeve).
Although their date of origin remains a mystery, the first public recording by SAMMAS' EQUINOX arrived in 2016, bearing the ever-so-apt title Pilgrimage. That demo was followed a year later by another, Boahjenasti. Between the two, the duo exhibited the stultifying rawness that has come to define much of Finnish black metal in the post-Strength & Honour era. More importantly, however, SAMMAS' EQUINOX revealed a uniquely atmospheric dimension—both in their bittersweet melodicism and their subtly layered approach to sound.
In 2019, SIGNAL REX compiled both demos onto one CD. Those seven songs, comprising their recorded output up to that point, burned with a filthy intensity true to the best Finnish tradition, yet equally exuded a somber, even tender quality that hinted their celestial journey had only just begun.
At the dawn of 2020, SAMMAS' EQUINOX joined forces with comrades EMANATING VOID for a special split 7” released by SIGNAL REX. Though featuring just one track, the aptly titled “Glaciers in Somber Night” hinted at a slight stylistic shift—one that now finds full expression in their monumentally glacial and sorrowful debut album, Tulikehrät.
The stunning cover artwork alone offers a glimpse into the spectral majesty that awaits. Tulikehrät is raw as ever but lucidly played, opening with stained-glass synths pushed prominently to the forefront. Far from mere ornamentation, these synths serve as both counterpart to the downcast riffing and as a textural lead—floating with an air of mysticism that beckons the listener to open inner portals and journey beyond imagination.
This dreamlike quality permeates the songwriting, which unfolds in a largely down-tempo march. The result is an icily iridescent aura—an ascent into realms beyond the earthly and the human. One could liken it to the dreamiest Polish black metal album of the 1990s, if recorded under Finland’s endless winter sky.
Conceptually, Tulikehrät revolves around the manifestations of Fire and Will, presented in a dreamy, pre-historical context that operates on both micro- and macrocosmic planes. And though the band remains proudly and purely black metal, the sonic frontiers explored here transcend the limitations of genre, venturing far beyond the confines of the wider "black metal" umbrella.
The mastering, handled by Henri Sorvali of Moonsorrow, further enhances the album’s mystical dynamism with no small amount of magick.
Free your mind, and the spirit will follow—SAMMAS' EQUINOX open the portals for you. One need only step inside Tulikehrät to experience splendors beyond compare.
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