Review: White Rune - Eventide on Aurora

Band: White Rune
Album: Eventide on Aurora
Genre: Melodic Black Metal
Country: Finland
Label: Hammer of Hate Records
Released: October 31, 2025

Introduction:

Emerging from Finland’s ever-fertile black metal scene, White Rune was founded by brothers Ruttokieli (Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keys) and Soldau (Drums). Since their formation in 2021, the duo has carved out a distinctive niche by merging the frostbitten aggression of traditional Finnish black metal with sweeping melodic and atmospheric tendencies. Their early demos later compiled as The Spell of Eternal Fire introduced that duality, while their 2022 full-length debut album Dawn of the White Rune expanded it into something more grand and symphonic. Now White Rune has returned with their sophomore release Eventide on Aurora.

Eventide on Aurora

Track Listing:

1. Eventide
2. Nightweaver
3. Mortal Eclipse
4. In Cursed Embrace
5. Bloodcurse Bound
6. Vampyric Dark Majesty
7. Nocturnal Lust
8. Arcane Journeys
9. Dawnbreaker
10. Aurora

Eventide on Aurora unfolds across 10 tracks and roughly 39 minutes, weaving a journey that is both cohesive and cinematic. The opener Eventide sets the tone, icy, melodic, and full of quiet foreboding before Nightweaver and Mortal Eclipse plunge into the heart of the album’s sound: piercing tremolo riffs, deliberate and aggressive drumming, and subtle keyboard layers that shimmer rather than dominate.

The production marks a clear step forward for the band. It is crisp but organic, retaining the grit that black metal demands while allowing the melodic textures to breathe. This balance elevates songs like Bloodcurse Bound and Vampyric Dark Majesty, which strike a careful line between ferocity and melodic grace. Meanwhile, shorter compositions such as In Cursed Embrace and the closing Aurora act as instrumental bridges, enriching the album’s atmosphere and lending it a ritualistic flow.

What truly distinguishes Eventide on Aurora from its predecessor is its restraint. Where Dawn of the White Rune occasionally reached for symphonic grandeur, this album finds strength in tension and mood. Arcane Journeys, the record’s six-minute centerpiece, encapsulates this evolution shifting from rapid, icy riffing into a more expansive, almost spiritual middle section. Each track feels purposeful, bound together by a sense of narrative continuity that suggests both decay and transcendence beneath the northern sky.

Conclusion:

With Eventide on Aurora White Rune demonstrates clear artistic growth without abandoning their roots. It’s an album steeped in atmosphere, carried by melody, and grounded in a deep respect for black metal’s raw spirit. The duo’s command of pacing, mood, and composition gives the record an immersive quality, less a barrage of songs than a single, cohesive vision.

While it may not reinvent the genre, it refines it with conviction and care. Eventide on Aurora feels like the work of a band confident in its craft, evoking both the solitude of Finnish winters and the mysticism of the aurora that lights them. A haunting, mature, and beautifully realized step forward for White Rune. Where their debut was expansive and dramatic, this record feels more focused and mature, an exploration of nocturnal beauty and northern melancholy that doesn’t sacrifice intensity for atmosphere.

BMZ Rating: 7,5 out of 10

Support White Rune here: https://sielunvihollinen.com/white-rune

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