Woven Dark Paths is the debut full-length album from Finland's Sarvekas, following their 1990 EP Of Atavistic Fury & Visions. If I hadn't known this band was Finnish, I would have guessed Greece as their country of origin as their black metal style is very melodic, without sacrificing speed or ferocity, and has very little of the pervading gloom typically associated with Finland's black metal scene. There are mad, bashing drums that don't sound plastic or artificial, fast yet not jarring guitars and low, growling rasps throughout the album and the sound is good, not too warm, and not too frigid. Musically, Sarvekas are in the middle of the black metal pool, not doing anything overly inventive but hitting all the right notes to create a chillingly energetic experience while listening to the album. If there's a downside to all this, it's that Woven Dark Paths is generic, sounding like a lot of other albums out there. There's nothing distinctive about what Sarvekas is doing, no exceptional songwriting, no unusual elements or instruments, no unexpected twists or turns. That doesn't make it a bad album, far from it, but it would be hard to pick it out of a lineup. Solid, if unremarkable, effort from Sarvekas.
