Band:	The Howling Void
Album:	Runa
Style:	Funeral doom metal, Symphonic doom metal
Release date:	March 2013

01. Irminsûl
02. Nine Nights
03. The Wolf And The Eclipse [2014 Re-Release bonus]

The Howling Void is self-described as, "Glacial meditations on the Mysteries, in the form of vast, funereal soundscapes." I usually find their music vast and warm instead of vast and icy, but "glacial" is nonetheless adequate for me, as it captures the slow moving pace as well as the epically large structure.

I previously encountered this one-man-band via Russia's Solitude Productions label; he's now coming to us via Italian Black Metal label Avantgarde Music. Runa was initially released as a 2-track digital-only EP in the spring of 2013; now Avantgarde Music is giving this little gem a physical release with three tracks. Closing song "The Wolf and the Eclipse" really rounds out the story told by the previous two. If for any reason you passed up this record before, you may find the story complete this time around.

Whether you hear oppressive cold or warmth, our journeys through this highly narrative music will be parallel. The passages are long and repetitive but they absorb you; you're left drowning in a sea of one contemplative riff. The folk element is far more present than before, and while the music is still slow and moody it's also quite grand. Imagine if there was a 4th Lord of the Rings film that showed what it was REALLY like walking for 6 long months from Hobbiton to Mordor; the first track "Irminsul" would be the soundtrack. Slow, repetitive, yet still a bit gallant.

I will admit my first spin left me feeling that the keyboards were once again bordering on too much, but I've never experienced that feeling on any subsequent spins. All seems exactly in place and has proven great replay value. One thing I love about The Howling Void is the strong storytelling aspect of each song. Vocals, if present at all, may be chants or otherwise far in the background. The music itself tells vivid, dark stories.