Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Ever since they formed in 2007, Hooded Menace have commanded hordes of underground metalheads with creepily, crushing tempos. Their upcoming seventh album is still grounded in classic horrors. But on Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, the Finnish stewards of death-doom remain far from stuck in their ways.

“…an ominous, cinematic plunge into horror-inspired doom, blending eerie atmosphere with crushing heaviness”, Metal Injection wrote in praise of the album’s first single.   

Today, Hooded Menace are releasing the second advanced single from Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. “Pale Masquerade” unveils a scene that’s chillingly familiar for cult followers. But by leaning heavier on classic influences, the band cast their age-old muse in a ghostly new light. 

Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration comes out October 3, 2025 on Season of Mist. Pre-order & Pre-save

Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration still honors the undead spirit that spawned Hooded Menace’s accursed two-track demo. On the album’s cover, Wes Benscoter summons the titular ghouls from the ’70s Spanish horror film series The Blind Dead in all of their haunting glory. “Pale Masquerade” officially opens the proceedings at a doomy march that summons Amando de Ossorio’s vengeful muse back amongst the living. “The dead army grows“, vocalist Harri Kuokkannen commands with growls that reek of the crypt.

Founding member Lasse Pyykkö still stands as the main supportive pillar for Hooded Menace. His riffs tear through the band’s new single like flesh from bone. But Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration hammers home the ’80s heavy metal influence that the band rung in on The Tritonus Bell. Misty keys drape “Pale Masquerade” in an eerie, neon glow. “A clandestine, sinister daze / In the Knights Templar way“. As the drums push the pace to a rotten rumble, a guitar solo cracks across the darkened sky like a flash from the past. 

Tracklist
1. Twilight Passages (1:04)
2. Pale Masquerade (7:50) [LISTEN]
3. Portrait Without a Face (7:15) [WATCH]
4. Daughters of Lingering Pain (7:25)
5. Lugubrious Dance (7:20)
6. Save a Prayer (6:12)
7. Into Haunted Oblivion (9:47)

For closing in on two decades, Hooded Menace have stood not as a bridge but the pillar between two underground realms. The band’s upcoming seventh album still paves the way for metal legions who prefer headbanging to more creepily, crushing tempos. However, while Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration is still rooted in a cultish obsession with the classics, these stewards of death-doom remain far from stuck in their ways.     

Starting as a teenager in the late ’80s, founding member Lasse Pyykkö got his start in Joensuu, Finland with the band Phlegethon. But the undead spirit that’s guided Hooded Menace since its 2007 conception first appeared back when he was just a young hesher. Dracula, Poltergeist, A Nightmare on Elm Street and other horrors piqued his morbid curiosity. Though later on, it was feasting on the cult classic Tombs of the Blind Dead that spawned the band’s accursed two-track demo.  

“It’s the dark element”, Lasse recalls when asked what Hooded Menace draws from its source material five albums removed from the band’s terrifying breakthrough Never Cross the Dead.  

The blind dead still stand watch over Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. Returning cover artist Wes Benscoter recreates the Knights Templar in all their glowingly ghoulish glory. “Pale Masquerade” paints a familiar scene, summoning Amando de Ossorio’s flesh-eating muse with a fresh heap of Lasse’s bone-crunching chugs. “The dead army grows“, Harri Kuokkanen commands with growls that reek of the crypt. Lifelong converts will quickly fall in line behind steadfast drummer Pekka Koskelo, who dips “Daughters of Lingering Pain” into the same dripping vat of wax as the band’s 2010s effigies for Relapse Records. The lasting influence of Candlemass and Paradise Lost hasn’t vanished without a trace. But Hooded Menace continue to break the mold they helped set for death-doom right from the album’s opening jump scare. Neon keys beam through “Twilight Passages” as if firing up a time machine.   

Reinvention isn’t new to Hooded Menace. While a menacing vocalist in his own right, Lasse passed the proverbial mic torch to Kuokkanen for the gloomier melodies that haunted the band’s initial offering after signing with Season of Mist late in 2016. Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed was also pulled more from the shadows of their imagination as opposed to the silver screen. Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration trends further in that direction; the lyric sheet unfurls like a house of psychological horrors, where the hallways are hung with shattered mirrors and faceless portraits. Only this time around, the trio really hammered home the influence of ’80s heavy metal that was rung in by previous long-player The Tritonus Bell. “Lugubrious Dance” twists between the hallucinogenic spires of Cathedral in conspiracy with King Diamond before cranking into a chorus that’s classic Hooded Menace.  

MicroPitching and other effects aren’t the only tricks of the trade that are pulled out from under Hooded Menace’s cloak. Traditional death-doomers might have been pleasantly surprised by the band covering W.A.S.P., so imagine the delighted screams upon hearing a Top of the Pops’ gem like “Save a Prayer” splattered in their signature blood-soaked dread. Lasse’s riffs still cement the rock-solid foundation beneath Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, but even he was surprised when sculpting its lead single. What should appear from the double bass swirling amidst “Portrait Without a Face” but the moan of a cello. Like an echo from beyond the grave, the cry of strings reappears during the album’s grand finale. Former live bassist Antti Poutanen sorrowfully saws as the band marches, gallops then sinks back “Into Haunted Oblivion”.  

On Lachyrmose Monuments of Obscuration, Hooded Menace cast death-doom in a ghostly new light. 

Line-up
Harri Kuokkanen — Vocals
Lasse Pyykkö — Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Pekka Koskelo — Drums

Guest Musicians
Antti Poutanen — Cello
John McNulty — Spoken Word

Production Credits
Recorded by Heikki Marttila at Guru Studio, Joensuu, Finland.
Mixed by Heikki Marttila.
Mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios, Portugal.

Cover Art
Wes Benscoter (https://www.wesbenscoter.com)

Photography
Pasi Nevalaita

Follow Hooded Menace
Bandcamp: https://hoodedmenace.bandcamp.com/music
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Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/hooded-menace/364200709
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