Band:	Blackguard
Album:	...So It Begins
Style:	Folk metal, Power metal
Release date:	March 2007

01. The Fallen
02. Arm Yourself
03. Vile
04. The Darkest Hour
05. Upon The Raging Storm
06. Majesty
07. The Beauty Of This Form
08. Last Pain
09. Automne

Fans of any northern bands that stemmed from Children of Bodom fame [you know Ensiferum, Wintersun, Kalmah, Norther], here is another "extreme power with folk influence" offering. Only this time, Finland has nothing to do with it, as it comes from the Canadian winter land. Profugus Mortis is as promising as any of the aforementioned bands were at some point in their career.

Relying a lot on folk influences represented by a full-time violin member in the person of Émilie Livernois-Desroches, the Montreal musicians are doing more than fine. Driven by enthralling keyboard melodies and an unyielding rhythm section, the band is displaying impressive skills.

The singing of vocalist Paul Ablaze is reminiscent of Alexi Lahio most of the time while the music oscillates between Haggard and Ensiferum. The omnipresent violin is a unique element of Profugus Mortis' music and gives this album an edge over the competition. They do have something else atypical, a great female drummer by the name of Justine Éthier. As in any great extreme power band, you need a solid guitar player, and Terry Deschenes is filling in this role effortlessly.

I was also quite impressed by the artwork of ?So It Begins, which is as deserving as more famous albums out there. The very active Jean-François Dagenais [from Kataklysm fame] is once more behind a solid production.

Some tracks are bringing more elements to the mix and taken as a whole ?So It Begins has the right modus operandi. If you like anything coming out of Finland labeled as "extreme power", or even a band like "Haggard" [minus the operatic singing], give those guys a serious try. Check out their MySpace, this should give you a good idea.