Band – Huronian
Album – As Cold As A Stranger Sunset
Country of Origin – Italy
Genre – Melodic Black/Death
Release Date – October 29, 2021
Label – Dolorem Records
Author – Hayduke X
There is a new monster in town. After releasing a self-titled EP back in 2020, Huronian join Dolorem Records to savage the world with their blend of melodic black and death metal. While it’s true that one can hear melodic takes on extreme metal going all the way back to At The Gates, Dissection, and more, Huronian stake a claim in the style by presenting an album both rooted in the history of these styles and freshly compelling. While a newer entity, the Italian trio counts among its ranks members of both Hateful and Valgrind. Thus, the pedigree of talent, effort, and quality is in place from the start.
Coming in at about forty-one minutes, As Cold As A Stranger Sunset hits hard and fast, and knows not to overstay its welcome. UMP (bass, guitars, keyboards) lets loose fast and furious riffs, interesting and powerful bass licks, and touches of keys that add nuance to the sound. MM (drums) pounds the skins with intricacy and fury in equal measure. Indeed, the drumming is one of my favorite parts of the album. Take time one day to listen specifically for the drumming. DL (vocals) brings a raspy bellow that admittedly took me a couple of listens to fully take in. Now I find the style passionate and aggressive.
As Cold As A Stranger Sunset is entrancing without coming across as weak. The album exudes both power and passion. I find myself nodding my head, as I begin daydreaming about large scale medieval battles on windswept plains. I don’t know that the themes of the lyrics have anything to do with that. It’s just where the music takes me. The nine tracks form a very complete album, going from strength to strength, and truly pulling the listener into the clutches of the mighty riffs.
Biography: Hayduke X has been writing for MoshPitNation since June of 2016. He is also a contributor to The Metal Wanderlust. Prior to joining the MoshPitNation team, Hayduke published reviews on his own blog Rage and Frustration. In addition, he has DJ’ed an online metal radio show of the same name as his blog, written for TOmetal.com, done interviews for Metal Rules, and collaborated with The Art of B Productions to create video interviews with a wide variety of bands.
