Album Review: Moonfall – Odes to the Ritual Hills
Band: Moonfall
Title: Odes to the Ritual Hills
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Release date: 11/04/2025
Country: Finland
Format reviewed: High quality digital recording
Album Review: Moonfall – Odes to the Ritual Hills vi Iron Bonehead Productions by Consanguineus
Moonfall from Finland came to life in 2008 but soon disappeared into the permafrost after releasing a demo only to thaw out again in 2019. The duo consists of Goatprayer (known from Archdemon, among others) and Black Moon Necromancer, who has been part of none other than Beherit since 2022 and you can hear it.
Clocking in at just 27 minutes, this album features two dungeon synth tracks and two Black Metal tracks. It’s not a long release, but it’s certainly an intense one. The gritty, raw, and ominous sound of Beherit’s Drawing Down the Moon era is unmistakably present, all reinforced by haunting synths. Simple mid-tempo riffs cut through with ruthless precision, dragging you down to meet the devil the old-school Finnish way.
What exactly happened in 1560 remains a mystery to me for now. The only thing I can find related to Finland is the death of King Gustav Vasa of Sweden, of which Finland was a part at the time.
By Moonfall, 1560 has become a short, intro-like dungeon synth track fairly simple and very much in the ’80s style.
The first full track, Countess Carody, then kicks things off with Beherit-like riffs combined with synths and vocals once again in the typical Beherit style.
In the 1971 horror film Vampyros Lesbos, Countess Nadine Carody played by Soledad Rendón Bueno is an erotic vampire who appears to be related to Count Dracula.
With the next track, Odes to the Ritual Hill, the synth presence increases slightly, creating a soundtrack-like atmosphere. Once again, the influence of the previously mentioned Beherit is unmistakable and far from hidden.
The outro, Thus Spoke Satanael, most likely inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, follows the style of the opening track, 1560.
Despite the album’s short runtime, Moonfall manages to create a captivating atmosphere. It’s a trip back to ’90s Finnish Black Metal, where the worship of Beherit clearly takes center stage. Unfortunately, the album is only being released on CD, as its incredibly cool cover definitely deserves a vinyl release. 7/10
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