It’s more or less six years since Spiritus Mortis – widely credited as the band that brought the doom faith to Finland – have released an album. That album, The Year Is One, is considered by many people who’s opinions in matters doom I respect, to be the finest doom album ever released…

That’s a big coffin to fill, especially since the man behind the mic for that album, the legendary Sami ‘Albert Witchfinder’ Hynninen, is no longer part of the band’s makeup. So, have the band managed to top The Year Is One?

Before I answer that question, if I answer it at all, the first thing worth mentioning is that you don’t really miss Hynninen at all. New vocalist Kimmo Perämäki is a fine singer in his own right, possessed of a versatile, flexible set of pipes that he wraps around standout tracks like Skoptsy and especially Khristovovery with some aplomb. The first of that pair is the most overtly ‘doom’ track on the album, the second a bouncy, multi-paced slab of trad metal that might inspire you to start dousing your fave battle vest in patchouli oil for the upcoming gig season should you be so minded; Markus Kuula‘s drums float like a butterfly in the background, heavily redolent of former Rainbow man Bobby Rondinelli, whilst the quasi-classical guitars of Jussi Maijala and Kari Lavila fill the rest of the available space with a sweet tempestuousness that’s easy on the ear through the Sentinel Daily office headphones but, probably, unforgiving on the neck in the live environment.

The closing brace of songs, Feast of the Lord and Are You A Witch form a fine end to proceedings, the first a groove-laden slice of seventies metal a la Purple and Priest with a chorus that takes the band beyond the constraints that comparison might place on the song with a nice upshift in intensity that is given added impact as most of the instruments drop out mid song to leave Perämäki left to carry the song alone until a plaintive, mournful lead guitar joins and leads the song home with a command that might quite rightly be termed Schenkeresque… It’s impressive, ambitious stuff, backed by the latter track, a slow-moving epic that never picks up the pace as you might expect, allowing the album to fade away out of the listener’s consciousness in a fashion that, whilst probably a surprise to most listeners, actually works perfectly.

So, does The Great Seal match up to The Year Is One? I’m still undecided, but does it really matter? If you are unfamiliar with Spiritus Mortis a quick spin of The Great Seal is only going to make you want to hear more, and, if you’re a long-time convert, then there’s absolutely nothing here that is going to change that. Which is a win-win situation in anyone’s book, surely?

The Great Seal releases on September 16th.