Norway

Kvad – Cold & Dark, As Life [Norway, Atmospheric / Raw Black] (2022)

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Self Released | 6-10-22

It is difficult to type the phrase Norwegian black metal” and not have it anchor to a certain time period. For better or worse this county and style elicits certain images which is a shame for bands and artists who are just making music for the void. Kvad is related to another Norwegian black metal act Darkest Bethlehem who had one single in 2021. Cold & Dark, As Life, for Kvad, represents the debut full length following an EP in 2021. This seems like the start for the act with an explosive 30 minute statement that is full of energy and entropy. There are obvious nods to Norway’s history in black metal with frostbitten aesthetics yet Kvad succeeds as a raw black act that sculpts landscapes of torment and demise. Each of the tracks which run 4-5 minutes feel like a swirling void where the vocals bounce around walls of madness. This is truly music for the distraught and Kvad commands its like a symphony.

Corroder – Tombs of Terror [Norway, Thrash] (2022)

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Self Released | 1-14-22

Corroder is when thrash metal rediscovers its punk roots. This is mad, this is pissed, this is angry. Tombs of Terror is five tracks that takes the three-chords-and-the-truth aesthetic of punk rock and rolls with all the punches and glass bottles one can take. It’s like Morbid Saint had a really bad day (and decided their drummer could scream) – a boilingly bad day, like the kind that opens up Falling Down. “At One with Chaos” drops plenty of f-bombs for any punkier take on thrash metal in lyrics as well as sound, and the tupa-tupa beats of “Death Throes” are a great match to the air siren lead guitar. The rhythm guitar cycles through simple yet effectively destroying compositions, with each vocal invective sending a new arrow in the heart. This is a hard listen, as if thrash metal decided to go back into the deepest CBGB underground rather than pivot to so much post-grunge alt-rock in the early 90s. “Kicking, squirming, dying” indeed.

Tombs of Terror by Corroder

Dødskvad – Krønike II [Norway, Death] (2022)

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Horses gallop into the maw of battle… therein lies Dødskvad. I hesitate to compare this to the two most over-compared bands in death metal, but to my ears, Krønike II blends Bolt Thrower and Timeghoul. Of the former, we have the chunky riffs and bass-heavy production – plus a warfare-hardened aesthetic. From Timeghoul, it’s all in the vocals: bassist/keyboardist Erlend Rønning has this strikingly enunciated roar-bellow that’s a dead ringer for “Coda Infinity”. Come to think of it, the band also has the middle-fidelity production that calls to mind NVNM – but I digress in analogies. This demo is hard but not harsh; at no points does it lapse into noise or black metal. There’s a deep aggressiveness that’s most demonstrated on “Etterlatt Til Ulver”, where Rønning uses his voice as an additional layer of percussion in the trotting guitars and dashing kick drums. The slight technical-yet-thrashy edge on “Jakten” leads into an absolute FUKK moment where guitar squelches become a veritable compositional element that culminates in Rønning’s demented laughter. Absolute must-grab.

Krønike II by DøDSKVAD

Vintlechkeit – Is Vidder… [Norway, Black / Ambient / Drone] (2022)

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Self Released | 1-18-22

It’s been a weird week in the Chesapeake Bay. While we had a lovely month of suitably winter weather (with not a few days getting down in the single digits at night), we’ve been slapped in the face by weather that sadly can no longer be called “unseasonable”. And next week it’ll only be weirder, with highs like a late spring and lows like an late autumn. In times like these, I stick to my frozen vegetables: Paysage d’Hiver, DarkSpace, Arkhtinn, and Lunar Aurora – anything that can trick me into believing it’s actually a frosty wonderland outside (there’s a reason I no longer live in Florida). We can also add Vintlechkeit to that mix. Is Vidder… is just one part of a very, very large discography of instrumental black metal + ambient music – like a low-key (and lo-fi) version of Paysage d’Hiver’s Einsamkeit. These three Norwegians specialize in that kind of slow-burn (or slow-freeze?) type of dirge-ish but not necessarily depressive black metal, being more a long gaze toward an obfuscated sun. The first track is more guitar-oriented, whereas the second track is oscillating drone. It’s icicles made from frozen tears all the way down.

Is Vidder… (demo) by Vintlechkeit

Töxik Death – Sepulchral Demons [Norway, Thrash / Death / Punk] (2020)

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Self Released | 8-22-20

The tags for this record are black / thrash / death / punk and to what percentage is anyone’s guess. Töxik Death care little for being balanced or even correct as the band’s second full length does more for their thesis of destruction than any previous release. Reviewing a band with a larger history is unique on this site as most bands are new or have a few releases before the one being reviewed. Töxik Death is approaching nearly 20 years of being formed and Sepulchral Demons feels like a fiery debut that is setting the stage for a whole career of madness. Sepulchral Demons sharpness the band’s focus from their earlier work and presents a future of old school heavy underground metal worship in a sound that doesn’t feel costumed rather galvanized by the the decades old quest for disorder. Come on and come all for the festival of the ruined.

Avdypet – Kapittel I [Norway, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Self Released | 4-22-20

Hello, this is wonderful. Avdypet is brand new but but the sounds of the first release, this act has sidestepped, and maybe leaped, over the acceptable bog of lo-fi experimentation and now is trotting through the woods of deep production. Kapittel I sounds established and from its cover to the track lengths and just air of authority, could be a record from one of the modern luminaries of the genre. If you are new to this whole DS thing and wonder what the big deal is, give Kapittel I a moment to spirit you away to a lush firest still wet with the morning dew and outlines of castles in the distance.

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Dekagram – Through The Dark [Norway, Atmospheric Raw Black] (2020)

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Poisonous Sorcery | 4-13-20

Raw atmospheric black or atmospheric raw black could both fit into this aesthetic. While Dekagram sounds ominous and cryptic, it is a unit of measurement equal to 10 grams. That in of itself may have significance but this is perhaps the first black metal act to embrace units of measurement to project their aura. Through the Dark is a compilation of two demos, one of them being a 2018 release and the other, I believe, being new. Whatever the case, the listener is given the experience of 43 minutes of atmospheric freefall not into the soft embrace of pine trees but rather an belfry on top of the most desolate looking church. This compilation is icy, moody, and above all else effective in its efforts to cast the world in darkness.

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Kvesta – Ibex Arrival [Norway, Black / Thrash] (2016)

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Polypus Records | 8-20-16

Polypus Records | 8-20-16

Fuck yeah! Black / Thrash! Fuck Yeah! There are few things which would deter this record from being great once the image and sound was locked in place. Even though the band and album title are not lock step with an immediate sinister image, the members which make up Kvesta have everything they need with a blazing full length which sounds like the dark one peeling away on a loud motorcycle. If you want an album which will make you stand a few feet taller, It is time to worship the Ibex.

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Nachash – Conjuring The Red Death Eclipse [Norway, Black] (2015)

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Unborn Productions | 2-10-15

Unborn Productions | 2-10-15

Oh man. This is not the Norwegian black you are thinking of. This is something so much cooler. This is atmospheric but not in the way normally attributed to this genre. This is something which is dark but with a completely different attitude. Conjuring The Red Death Eclipse maybe the first release from a band who has still yet time to spread its horrible wings but good goddamn will it be amazing when its fully grown.

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Execration – Morbid Dimensions [Norway, Death] (2014)

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Duplicate Records | 10-9-14

Duplicate Records | 10-9-14

While I am sure experimental death has existed outside of 2014, this year in general seems more fertile with music that not only evokes horror but is capable of twisting tentacles in odd directions. Though any band deserves to be evaluated on their own merits, Execration’s slides in nicely alongside similar trouble makers Morbus Chron, Horrendous, and Tribulation. Morbid Dimensions may not know which style to run with but the frantic indecisiveness is something which gives the album a charming appeal.

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