Svartelder are a Norwegian black metal band and this is their third album.
Svartelder contain current/ex-members of bands such as 1349, Den Saakaldte, Doedsvangr, Enepsigos, From the Vastland, Gaahls Wyrd, Horizon Ablaze, Nattverd, Nordjevel, and others, which is a lot of talent all in one place. Does the 38* minutes of material we find on Trenches live up to the promise that this collective experience brings with it?
It does, but not in a way I was expecting.
Okay, so on the surface of it, Trenches is black metal played in the old-school style. Cold and merciless, with frozen atmosphere, icy riffs, and a lethal instinct, these songs go for the throat and then brutally tear it out. This is black metal that contains atmosphere and nuance, but also has a ferociously aggressive character.
So far so standard for this sort of black metal. What sets Svartelder apart though is their execution of a vision for the style which doesn’t start and stop with hero worship. Svartelder clearly know their way around the genre, (as you would expect), but the songs are also full of interesting ideas and creative sounds that enrich the music. Rather than simply go through the motions and regurgitate yet another homage to the second wave, Svartelder have taken the 90s as inspiration for their sound, but also enhanced it with their own passion and personality.
There’s a great variety of sounds and songwriting ideas that elevate Trenches above what you might be expecting for a release of this nature. This might manifest in a serpentine riff, or maybe a particularly hypnotic rhythm. Perhaps a striking percussive element grabs your attention, or possibly you feel captivated by an atmospheric depth that you feel you could drown in. At one moment it could be a thrash attack that hits hard and fast, whereas at another it might be a darkly industrial edge that haunts your nightmares. Maybe it’s a spectral melody that gets your attention, or was it a sinister mood that won’t let you go? The point is this – Svartelder play old-school black metal, but they do so with their own character and infernal design.
Finally, I’ll also note that the music’s sound is unusually harsh and unforgiving, and their singer’s impressive voice is wielded like a weapon throughout.
Trenches has surprised me. I wasn’t expecting anything as individual and well-realised as this, I confess. It’s inventive and refreshing – it’s great to hear a band take the source material, treat it with reverence and authentic passion, but firmly and convincingly put their own spin on it. This is definitely something even hardened black metal fans should spend some time with, as it combines old-school passion with an adventurous venom that’s intoxicating.
*My only real complaint about Trenches is that most of the final track is silence on my version. I’m assuming this is an error, but you never know. Once this is clipped off, the total duration of the album drops to 32 minutes.
Wonderbox Metal 