TO CONCEAL THE HORNS hail from Finland, and formed in 2018. Despite being a new entity, Vexd - the mainman behind the band, handling all vocals and instruments save drums as well as recording - played in Ghost Brigade for many years and, more recently, in the now-disbanded Alghazanth. But as TO CONCEAL THE HORNS, Vexd takes a wholly different route: completely cosmic black metal, as vast and daunting as the solar system itself.
The Kun Luovon EP, the first TO CONCEAL THE HORNS recording, arrived at the beginning of 2019 and duly revealed this aesthetic. But it was the Transformaation yöpuolta EP a month later where that aesthetic truly took flight: a massive 19-minute track, with an ambient remix just as long, here did Vexd unfurl a dense-yet-spacious landscape of infinite blackness. Now, with the consequent debut full-length, TO CONCEAL THE HORNS show their grandest hand.
Simply but elegantly titled, Purist is stark, austere, but exceptionally sumptuous. The skyscraping surge is undeniably rooted in the most mystical recesses of the '90s black metal memory, recalling the dazzling depths/heights reached by the early works of Limbonic Art, Covenant, and Norway's Troll but with an astral identity all its own. Indeed, TO CONCEAL THE HORNS' acute/astute balance between cosmic wonder and woodland wander places Purist in a more modern context without diluting any of its classicist foundation. Likewise, the album's clear 'n' cutting contours emit a palatably gleaming sheen, where the layers are subtle but defined, and none of the inherent aggression is neutered. Above all, Vexd's songwriting itself is of a sterling standard, his cosmic keys the creation of a man transfixed by the stars and with the talent and resolve to capture it in sonic form.
The past is always alive within the PURITY THROUGH FIRE stronghold, but with TO CONCEAL THE HORNS' Purist, a trip to the negative void of space awaits!
