ILDFAR - Sorrowful Echoes Of Perdition review

 

ILDFAR - Sorrowful Echoes Of Perdition

Wolfspell Records

So when was the last time you heard some new black metal from Norway that wasn't from an established artist? Yeah I'll wait a few minutes. Times up and in all honesty off the top of my head I cannot name one. But of course here we have the third full length by ILDFAR. Basically this is a one man black metal act. The one man is Favn (aka: Thomas Aamodt) who is responsible for everything as in the vocals, guitars and keyboards. 

While listening to this I obviously got the notion that Favn is an accomplished pianist (check out the instrumentals "Til graven" or "Emptiness") who also likes DARKTHRONE, MAYHEM as well as BURZUM. In other words to be obvious yeah he's into classic early 1990's True Norwegian Black Metal. This is my first listen to his material and I'm like yeah it's a complete throwback to the past. Blast "Kulden som river i mitt sinn" or "Raa og kald" and get dragged back into a tremolo picked guitar frenzy. Add to that Favn's aggro yet harsh vocal style. 

"We Fall" is probably my favorite cut on this release. It's the longest cut on here with a run time of just over eight minutes. It packs in the full aggressive nature plus harsh atmosphere all at once. Most of the songs on Sorrowful Echoes Of Perdition (there's ten cuts in all) run in the three plus to five minute range. I like how Favn's song writing style doesn't linger on into repetitive boredom. In the end yeah musically it's familiar territory being traveled but I cannot deny it's appeal for someone who's not entirely against the idea of reviving something cool. 

https://wolfspell.pl/

LISTEN HERE:

https://ildfar.bandcamp.com/album/sorrowful-echoes-of-perdition-2

TAIVAL - Journey To Beyond review

 

TAIVAL - Journey To Beyond

Wolfspell Records

Well this is definitely a journey to the dark past. TAIVAL are a four piece black metal act from Finland. Musically on this their debut full length the band is not completely in the whole old school necro filth which Finnish BM was known for back in the day. They run the gambit of melody as well as the depressive atmospheric stuff. 

There's no surprise on that latter point since two members of TAIVAL (their vocalist who goes by the name O and their guitarist / bassist who goes by the name J) were once in a depressive BM act called ALL ALONE. Why am I not shocked? Anyways these two guys hooked up with brothers (J. Norvik on drums and K. Norvik on keyboards) to form TAIVAL. 

Actually I like what I'm hearing here. I like how their use of the keyboards is either a supplement to a song's structure or it's a defining moment to a cut. The guitar riffs are plain BM playing with the patented hornet's next sound quality. On a couple of cuts the tremolo runs are good. The drum work is basic. I think O is the star here with his harsh like a man on fire screams. 

Overall this is decent black metal in that it reminds ya of a demo from 1997. The band admits that this was recorded in "the desolate rehearsal basement during the winter of 2023". Obviously they were going for authenticity. I've got five bucks that says this band gets huge at least in the underground BM scene in five years.

https://wolfspell.pl/

LISTEN HERE:

https://taival.bandcamp.com/album/journey-to-beyond

IKU-TURSO - Pakana review

IKU-TURSO - Pakana

Wolfspell Records




Well it's always cool to hear some black metal from the pagan vastlands of Finland. OK sure their vocalist is Dutch but in the greater overview it's always good to hear some pagan black metal. Especially in this band's case because they're old school influence abounds. 


This is the second full length by IKU-TURSO, a band who's been around since 2017. It's my first time hearing their music and honestly it's been a damm good time. No surprise here that Pakana is a concept album. Most of the classic BM albums of the 90's were that and more. This one is about a journey into the unforgiving wilderness of ancient days and of the old Gods. Yeah we've been there before. 


Sound-wise this is completely second wave black metal with some folk moments which are really cool. It has a duel influence going on. One is pure old school Finnish pagan influenced metal and the other is total Norwegian BM. Honestly the two should never meet but on here it works. In this instance I'm gonna name drop some familiar favorites like ULVER, early SATYRICON and MOONSORROW as influences on high here.


Aside from their folk approaches and subtle keyboard touches IKU-TURSO employ your standard blast beat, icy tremolo picked rhythms and one sick sounding screamer Lafawijn the Dutchman. I like how the keyboards are applied as a backdrop which keeps it from being symphonic. Song structures vary from rhythmic violence to more atmospheric melancholy. Interspersed between the vocal rasps are some spoken word parts as well as good ol' Finnish style gutturals and gang shouting. Oh well, someone broke out the vodka on that cut.


Pakana is everything for someone who has been listening to black metal since it's inception. I'm sure somebody with less than meaningful intentions could picked this apart like de-boning a chicken. Personally I find this release to be fantastic simply because it contains moments which remind me on why I still like black metal. 


https://wolfspell.pl/

https://iku-turso.bandcamp.com/album/pakana

https://www.facebook.com/ikutursobm