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FInland's Horna are probably known to most people who have been listening to black metal for a while. This long-running band—formed in 1994—has been very productive, especially when it comes to EPs and splits, but the number of full-length studio albums is nothing to sneeze at either. They've always been pretty consistent in their songwriting, not deviating from their direction and sticking to a proven formula. This is also true with Kuoleman Kirjo, which finds the band unleashing nearly 70 minutes of the (mostly) speedy, blasting and savage black metal that they've become known for. There's nothing surprising here and, when it comes to Horna, that's how I like it. It's violent, dark, crushing black metal and, despite the style, they have a knack for memorable dark and haunting melodies and somewhat catchy bits, which is no mean feat when playing it pedal to the metal, albeit with the occasional slower, nonetheless crushing moments. The vocals sound like they're straight out of hell and are just chilling and add a whole other dimension to the music. Bottom line, another great entry in Horna's discography.