heavy-metal-darkness: Mourning Wood |Murder Of Crows |Inverse Records

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Mourning Wood |Murder Of Crows |Inverse Records

Release Date: November 28^th, 2025
Format: CD, Digital
Genre: Heavy Metal
Country: Finland

Founded in 2021, Mourning Wood comes from Finland with roots stretching back to Kajaani and a long shared history between its members. The band draws inspiration from classic heavy metal and northern sorrow, shaped by names like Sentenced and Ozzy Osbourne, without hiding a dark sense of humor under the misery. Their debut full length, “Murder Of Crows”, arrives through Inverse Records and introduces a group comfortable with bleak themes, self mockery and emotional decay.

“Murder Of Crows” circles around declining sanity, addiction and the wish for an easy exit, painted through the recurring image of crows gathering when trouble multiplies. The album is raw and rough around the edges, sometimes ugly by choice, sometimes oddly touching. There is bitterness here, self awareness too, and that mix keeps the songs from sinking into pure self pity. The darkness is heavy, though there is a crooked grin hiding between the lines.

The material shifts through despair, manic bursts and resignation without sounding calculated. Tracks like “Down In The Dirt” and “Swift Demise” drag themselves through filth and frustration, while “Wish You Were Beer” twists gloom into black humor instead of relief. “A Grave Vacation”, also supported by a video from Heikki Sulander, sums up the band’s worldview well, suicidal thoughts presented with grim irony rather than melodrama.

This debut does not hit every moment with the same strength, and some ideas circle familiar ground for melancholic metal listeners. Still, the honesty and rough spirit keep the album engaging across its length. Mourning Wood sounds like a band that means what it plays, flaws included, and that gives “Murder Of Crows” enough bite to matter.

Score: 7.0