Stortregn are a black/death metal band from Switzerland and this is their sixth album.
Well, this is an impressive beast. If you’re looking for a feast of riffs, technicality, and melody, then look no further than Finitude. It boasts 43 minutes of the stuff, and it’s a real scorcher.
The Stortregn formula is a well-crafted balance of melodic death metal foundations, enhanced by the bladed expression of melodic black metal, bolstered by progressive weight, and enriched by a technicality that’s all-pervasive, but without being overwhelming. The band’s style combines surgical precision with emotive delivery, making for songs that have many strengths and few weaknesses.
Death metal brutality and scything blackened aggression unite in a concerted stream of blazing intensity, while bright colourful melodies rage and streak across the distortion. Epic atmosphere is created out of nothing, soaring to the heavens, while introspective diversions allow the listener to catch their breath between scathing assaults. All the while the music’s technical heart runs deep throughout, imbuing everything with a rich sense of detailed quality. There are moments of tech death, but also of sensual jazz and neoclassical beauty. Stortregn can certainly play. Crucially though, Stortregn remember the value of a good hook. These are not soulless exercises in technical skill; these are actual songs, brimming with emotive appeal and atmospheric depth, where the technicality allows the band to achieve their goals, rather than hinders them.
The entire album flows from one multifaceted track to the next with sinuous ease and superlative ability. Finitude is a journey that takes the listener to resplendent highs and brutal lows, all via highly accomplished worldbuilding that’s wonderfully wrought.
Stortregn’s new album is powerful and extremely moreish. There’s a lot to discover across its expansive-yet-concise running time, and Finitude is hideously enjoyable.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 