In Dante’s Inferno, the second circle begins the proper punishment of Hell, a place where “no thing gleams.” It is reserved for those overcome with Lust, where carnal appetites hold sway over reason. In Nine Circles, it’s where we do shorter reviews of new albums that share a common theme.
Black metal may be what I’m listening to year-round, but of course the dark, icy-cold nature of the genre is intrinsically suited for winter. My last Second Circle of the year focuses on two new albums, each featuring a very prolific musician in the genre (who have themselves collaborated on more than one occasion). Let’s plunge into the night with majestic atmosphere and chaotic dissonance with Greve and Martröð.
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I’ve come across the name Swartadauþuz a number of times — no surprise considering he has over 25 active projects per Encyclopedia Metallum — but prior to this album I had never given any release from the Swedish multi-instrumentalist a proper listen. Greve’s third full-length Bleknat Bortom Evig Tid sees Swartadauþuz crafting a more European form of atmospheric black metal, one that doesn’t derive from a Cascadian or blackgaze direction (periods of calm intensifying to massive moments of release) like many American or Canadian artists tend to do. Greve instead take things in a much more melodically-inclined direction, with multilayered guitars playing an incessant stream of chords, unafraid to use the entirety of the fretboard. I saw this compared to Sacramentum and I’m very happy to report that the composition of the guitars definitely feels like Far Away from the Sun stretched out, with the constant changes in rhythm and moments of more chaotic technicality removed. There are occasional breaks that feature clean guitars and emphasize the robust bass — a slow, calmer period in “Nektar av Dödens Gift” or the shimmering middle of “I dunkel poesi” — but otherwise this is an endless tide of 150bpm, 16th-note blackened majesty.
Where Far Away from the Sun excels in nightside majesty through melodicism coupled with intense, ever-shifting riffs and drum patterns, Bleknat bortom evig tid is a much more repetitive and hypnotic experience. Metallum lists Greve as a symphonic black metal band but aside from some shimmering keys to emphasize some particular moments, the only symphony here comes from the glacial wall of guitars. My enjoyment of Bleknat has had me alternating between it predecessor Föllo afv Svavel, Lifvet Dimridå and while I think that album just edges this one out compositionally, the follow-up has an overall more powerful production and serves as a strong indication that the rest of Swartadauþuz’s material is worth diving into. For anyone wanting to know what a more atmospheric take on Sacramentum’s magnum opus or more melodic/less-symphonic In the Nightside Eclipse might sound like, I can’t recommend Greve enough.
Bleknat Bortom Evig Tid is available now from Purity through Fire. For more information on Greve, check out their Encyclopedia Metallum page.
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Martröð had their start all the way back in 2016 with their EP Transmutation of Wounds, two tracks of chaotic, dissonant black metal bringing together musicians from the Icelandic and American black metal scenes in a sort of semi-supergroup (hard to use that term with any act featuring Icelandic members though, as the incestuousness of the country’s scene renders that term pretty useless). After nine years of inactivity the band has returned with their first full-length Draumsýnir Eldsins, retaining the core duo of H.V. Lyngdal (Wormlust, Sól án Varma) and Alex Poole (Chaos Moon, Skáphe, Krieg, and many, many more). The black metal of Martröð is turbulent and ever-changing, a continuation of the style pioneered by Deathspell Omega and honed in the Nordic island nation; unsurprising considering the pedigree of those involved (even if Poole is the sole music credit). Speedily picked staccato riffs circled by vulturous wings of dissonant chords, clean breaks that are perhaps even eerier than the heavy moments thanks to H.V.’s tortured vocal performance; the album hits an early peak in the final minutes of “Sköpunin” with a feature from the Selfoss Symphonic Choir (I wish they had been featured more, but that’s a better alternative to overuse).
Joining H.V. and A.P. on session drums is Jack Blackburn, frequent collaborator of Poole who first blew me away this time two years ago on Ringarë’s Of Momentous Endless Night. Sounding a bit less like “tech death drummer overplaying on a dreamy black metal album” (not that it was a problem in the first place), the mixing on his drums feels much more organic this time around; all the while he still plays his ass off, appropriately playing both chaotically and extremely precise. Draumsýnir Eldsins is a powerful return for this black metal act, merging darkest depths of USBM with the signature dissonance of the Icelandic scene. At only 37 minutes the album is easier to digest than some of its peers, and serves as yet another reminder that the creative pool of Poole and company is far from dry.
Draumsýnir Eldsins will be available December 12 through Debemur Morti Productions. For more information on Martröð, check out their Facebook page.
— Colin
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