Befitting their elaborate name, the rejuvenated Darkwoods My Betrothed perform metal imbued with Nordic frost. While Massacre is a furnace of blastbeats and bile, Hahto in particular sounding more like machine than man, there are shades of the symphonic elsewhere, grey slants of keyboards adding wintry soundscapes. The album is inspired by the Great Northern War of 1700 to 1721, and in particular the horrors endured by both Finnish soldiers and civilians. The acidic In Evil, Sickness And In Grief is as staunch an anti-war song as you’ll find, unflinching in part, but melody-driven and sorrowful in spirit. Johanna Kurkela, Tuomas’ wife and bandmate in prog-folk side project Auri, provides deep, emotive contrast to Pasi Kankkunen’s needle-sharp screams.