It’s great when a band can awe with something unexpected, whether heightened songwriting abilities or a genre turn out of left field. But there’s another type of satisfaction that arises when an artist puts forth exactly the type of album you hope for. Such is the case with Tronen, the newest full-length from Trolldom. From the mind of ever-prolific Swartadauþuz and a crew of worthy collaborators comes a new melodic black metal assault straight out of mid-to-late ’90s Sweden; one that eschews the standard callbacks to this period in favor of something darker, more precise, and ultimately far more rewarding to these ears.

While I’ve merely dipped my toes into the vast body of work that Sweden’s Swartadauþuz has contributed to — 50+ full-lengths alone across more than 30 different projects; active, disbanded, or otherwise unknown — I’m pretty confident in stating that he is a rare musician who quite simply gets the essence of black metal. Projects like Gardsghastr, Gnipahålan, or the first two Trolldom full-lengths (released simultaneously in 2022) represent some of the most impressive attempts in the modern era at not just reliving the mystical legacy of In the Nightside Eclipse, but adding to it. Dialing back on the Emperor worship for something I find far more interesting were his latest albums from Greve: Föllo Afv Svavel, Lifvets Dimridå (2022) and Bleknat Bortom Evig Tid (2025). Without getting too deep into the weeds, these albums present a slower-paced, atmospheric take on the polyphonic melodicism already perfected by Sacramentum’s Far Away from the Sun in 1996. As fantastic as these aforementioned Greve albums are, I was hoping he could conjure up something even closer to my all-time favorite album. Then about two months ago, the single “Etter falla…” dropped… it was as if the Tronen cover art came alive, runic magic erupting from Thurisaz straight into my own ears.

Melodic, multilayered tremolo picking weaving up and down the fretboard like a serpent’s dance, joining together before going off in opposing directions. One riff after another unfolding in a linear fashion, without a trace of anthemic choruses or Dissection-style “Iron Maiden harmonies but black metal” to be found. In a world where throwback to ’90s Swedish melodic black metal typically means redoing The Somberlain/Storm of the Light’s Bane for the umpteenth time, I was floored to find a rare release following the path less traveled. Six blistering tracks across only 32 minutes, Tronen ditches the mood-setting ambient tracks typical of Swarta’s other works in favor of instant forays into blackened intensity. Tronen‘s production is fairly cavernous in its own way; certainly not in the death doom sense, but more suited to a dark, foggy glade in a long-forgotten forest. The track preceding “Etter,” “I Völvans Spår,” just surpasses it to showcase Tronen at it’s very finest… there’s a specific melody first unveiled at 01:47 that might very well be my favorite of the entire year. The purest distillation of melodic black metal ascendancy that I’ve heard in quite a long time.

Despite walking in the footsteps of Sacramentum, Setherial, or Mörk Gryning, do not mistake this for Tronen being absent of its own identity. Joining Swartadauþuz are a coterie of session performers that have become staples of his work at this point, namely Graf Auzawandils (aka Alex Poole of Martröð, Skáphe, and many, many more) and K. Paradis (Aborted, Belphegor, Fleshgod Apocalypse). They lay the finishing touches atop a bedrock of triumphant melodicism, and could very well be the reason why this album is released under the Trolldom moniker. Auzawandils’ synths serve as the biggest differentiator between Tronen and its influences, complementing the guitar lines with a shimmering mysticism that binds this album to the duo of 2022 Trolldom full-lengths that had their feet firmly planted in symphonic glory. Prolific session drummer Paradis (himself drumming on the aforementioned albums) unleashes a relentless torrent of hyperspeed blasts and thunderous fills that bring the sense of urgency in the riffs to a fever pitch. Even when the pulse slows down (such as in the verse of “Dräpt ur Dunkel”) he keeps up with rapid hi-hat hits. As impressive as it can be, the drumming is the one aspect of the album that even I can find a bit overpowering at times… I’d certainly be interested to see how Greve session drummer Juhos would handle this album.

Surely by intention, the likelihood that Tronen will appeal to a large audience (even within the vast realm of black metal) is pretty slim by my own reckoning. It’s nothing particularly new, by no means varied, and is very much a nonstop assault on the senses. But for those of us who crave this specific style of melodic black metal based around trem-picked harmonies and riffs upon riffs — following a lineage that can be traced back to Far Away from the Sun, and perhaps even further to Alf Svensson-era At the Gates — there is a brand new treasure trove of black majesty awaiting discovery.

— Colin

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Tronen will be available October 30 through Debemur Morti Productions. For more information on Trolldom, check out their Bandcamp page.