Hin Onde have waved the flag of Finnish pagan metal for quite some time now. 'Fiery September Fire' is the band's second release after 'Ahti's Depths' (1999) debut demo.

I haven't heard the debut demo, but sound quality of this 7" vinyl is really bad. There's no lower end nor backbone, mix is mess and it crackles and no, not because of vinyl! Balancing of instruments is bad: toyish synths and vocals rule over everything else when they are there. Playing isn't accurate and there's clear mistakes in performance. This sounds like it was recorded on first take. Vocals are okay in every way. Hoarse ones, clean voice (with no singing skills, but still okay) and some "trollish" ones can be heard.

'24th of September 1155' and 'Paganheart' are nice pagan songs with something very Finnish in them. Melodies are catchy and compositions work. No wonder these two songs can be found on debut album 'Songs of Battle' (2000). 'Troll and Tom' is a tale and mad with tongue in cheek. It could work, but it sounds amateurish. As does 'Lores of the Forgotten Ones', where rhythm is created with thunder bolts!

It's clear, that the band had ideas about creating unique pagan metal. Sadly the amateurish production and performance ruins a lot. Thankfully some of the promises were redeemed with the debut album.

Rating: 3+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
09/22/2004 22:52