The Comeback No One Saw Coming: Soulgrind’s Ad Pulchram Mortem and the Weight of Time
Sixteen years is an eternity in music. For context, when Soulgrind released The Tuoni Pathway in 2010, Spotify was still a fledgling startup, and the phrase ‘AI-generated album’ sounded like sci-fi nonsense. So when Finland’s eternal genre-blenders finally returned this August, the bigger surprise wasn’t their sound—it was the fact that they returned at all. But here’s the twist: Ad Pulchram Mortem isn’t a victory lap. It’s a fractured mosaic of ambition, rust, and stubborn brilliance that raises more questions than it answers.
The Yin and Yang of Soulgrind’s Sound
Let’s cut to the core truth: Soulgrind has always been about tension. The push-pull between Tanya Lilith’s ethereal crooning and Azhemin’s guttural growls isn’t just a vocal dynamic—it’s the band’s entire identity. Lilith doesn’t just ‘rescue’ tracks like Tears of the Earth; she weaponizes beauty, turning it into a counterpoint to Azhemin’s primal snarls. But what fascinates me isn’t the contrast itself. It’s how this duality mirrors the band’s existential tug-of-war. Are they gothic metallers? Death-doom pioneers? A thrash-infused oddity? The answer, maddeningly, is ‘yes’—and that refusal to pick a lane feels both brave and self-sabotaging.
When Passion Overshadows Precision
Here’s what the 3.0/5 rating doesn’t tell you: This album is a masterclass in almost. Almost transcendent. Almost cohesive. Almost worth every grueling minute of its 65-minute runtime. Personally, I think the band’s decision to double down on their maximalist instincts—tacking on an 11-minute epic finale, no less—reveals a deep-seated fear of irrelevance. They’re trying to prove they haven’t gone soft, yet the result feels like a chef throwing every ingredient into one pot and calling it ‘experimental.’ The moments where Lilith’s melodies soar above the chaos (Into the Shadows of Devotion) are genuinely spine-tingling. But then tracks like In the Circus of Tuonela derail the momentum entirely, as if the band collectively shrugged and said, ‘Why not?’
The Curse of the ‘Return Album’
Sixteen years between records should be a recipe for disaster, right? Yet Soulgrind’s real issue isn’t rust—it’s indecision. Bands like Metallica (Reload) or Guns N’<span style=
