Review: Jötunheimar - Ravens of the Heathen Sun (2025)

Band: Jötunheimar
Album: Ravens of the Heathen Sun
Genre: Symphonic Black Metal
Country: UK
Label: Cursed Crown
Released: 10th August 2025

Introduction

Going through releases I missed through 2025, Ravens of the Heathen Sun stood out to me as one to delve a little into. This is the debut EP from British symphonic black metal band Jötunheimar who embrace Norse mythology to weave a tapestry of harmonic and atmospheric tales.

Heathens of the Raven Sun

A symphonic introduction gently guides us into this four track EP, with choirs, strings and piano work this orchestration sets a grand precedent for what is to come. 

Though it doesn't quite seamlessly blend into the titular track, the general theme does carry on. Layered underneath blast beat drums and distorted tremolo guitars, the bold compositions establish a clear statement that this is indeed symphonic black metal as you expect it. 

The distant vocals yell through the storm of furious melodies throughout this album, not completely obfuscated but enough that they have a sense of dread and mild despair in them.

Blackened Flames of Eternal Vengeance is the standout track of the three full songs we get. A short environmental introduction of aforementioned flames crackling in and we are straight into a storm that surges with a strong current, bringing forth this dark hymn where religion and betrayal form a twisted tale.

The melodic guitars harmonised with the symphonic elements powerfully sway back and forth, the drums are rolling, and we get a short spoken word section with elements of grief and vengeance against the church in an almost apocalyptic fashion.

Crescendoing in grand form with “the witch shall rise”, the song is bookended by the crackling flames, and the song dies out to the final piece. 

By Nagelfar Carried swells with bombastic orchestration and has an opulent charm to it. Though the short introduction has an eerie element, it is quickly crushed by the regency this track carries. 

My biggest issue with this release, and one I hope to see rectified as the band continues is how everything is muted and compressed. The drums don't feel like they have an impact, and the guitars are muddied in the mix. The elements are all there, it just lacks depth and at times melds into one.

If this was standard black metal, I could forgive the mix as a stylistic choice - but with the symphonic sub-genre it feels like you need that production quality to be much more polished, for all the elements to be crystal clear and emphasised to a greater degree.

Conclusion

This debut EP if anything shows promise for the future of this band. The songs are well written, the blend of symphonic elements weaved into the bleak black metal works wonderfully, and the instrumentation is absolutely solid. 

Symphonic black metal is such a hit or miss sometimes whether the band can carry the harshness of black metal without losing it to the more upbeat melodic elements and it becoming too cheesy. 

Jötunheimar have managed to carefully tread the line and achieve a very solid debut EP here that maintains an essence of bleakness to it. Though short at only 18 minutes long (cut down to 15 minutes without the introduction piece), it definitely is a genre where the flow often needs time to breathe and with an album I believe they could do just that. Certainly a band to keep an eye on and see what awaits us in the future.

BMZ Rating: 7/10

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