Helfró – Tálgröf (Review)

Helfró are a black/death metal band from Iceland and this is their second album.

Following on from 2020’s enjoyable Helfró comes Tálgröf, which boasts 36 minutes of new material. Marginally shorter than its predecessor, despite having one track more, what does this mean for the Helfró of 2023?

Apparently that the band are more focused than ever, but also a changed force. Tálgröf is a blackened death metal album, rather than a pure black metal one. Tálgröf takes the sharp, lethal black metal of Helfró and infuses it with malevolent death metal. The end result is a blackened death metal monster that takes a hybrid approach to devastation. It’s a feast of serrated aggression and the relentless drive of death metal brutality.

Tálgröf is a ferocious assault, blending death metal muscle with sinuous blackened razor blades. Helfró combine thunderous heavy guitars with venomous black metal, achieving a fusion of black and death that’s easy to like if you’re a fan of both styles. It’s an interesting blend though, as Helfró don’t always mix the two sides of their sound together evenly. Sometimes they decide to unleash the full force of their death metal influences, brutally assaulting the listener with ferocious intensity. At others though they ignore that side of things completely and go for an all-out black metal attack.

There are symphonic elements, merciless blast beats, mid-paced hooks, and melodic accents. There’s majestic ferocity that’s compelling, and when Helfró fully unleash what they’re capable of it’s withering. They also have a knack of selecting choice riffs, and much of the brutal groove or crushing heaviness in the album is backed by some solid riffery. Helfró also have a technical side that we’ll-used.

Imagine a mix of Hate Eternal, Behemoth, Morbid Angel, Zyklon, Abigor, and Dark Funeral, and you’ll have a rough idea of where Tálgröf is coming from.

An unexpected shift in sound has paid dividends. Tálgröf is a thoroughly enjoyable record and should be eagerly explored by fans of black/death extremity.

Very highly recommended.