In April 1999, now-defunct UK extreme music magazine Terrorizer ran a feature and review on an exciting new band from Alaska called Arktyk. The gushing descriptions of their music – ice-cold black metal with cosmic, trippy instrumentation – sounded too good to be true, and indeed they were. Arktyk was a cruel April Fool hoax, resulting in dozens of failed pre-orders from disgruntled BM fiends. Tampere quartet Henget sound like their brief might be to belatedly manifest that mythical Arktyk LP, from the frosty, Thornsinfluenced riffing to the atmosphere of psychedelic weirdness and streak of avant-garde mischief. However, what’s stranger than fiction is that Henget’s songs are mostly “improvised on the spot”. It’s a USP that can’t help making this assured debut feel more dazzlingly impressive, especially as there’s no cop-out droning or noodling, the structures remaining pointed and propulsive throughout. ■■■■■■■■■■