It is with great pleasure that I receive the promo CD of the upcoming album by Fördärv, a revelation band in the Swedish black metal scene. And it is also a great pleasure to write again about this band. With their debut EP The Echo of Emptiness, released only in December 2013, the Swedish duo showed to have a clear idea of black metal, and that is a harsh black metal that acts as a return to the origins of this genre at a time when contamination abounds. In my review of the EP, I called their music “a return to the primordial purity of black metal”. The first full-length develops fully and consistently this idea of black metal.
Compared to the debut EP, Between the Eternities is less melodic, but it is much harsher, more aggressive and straight to the point, but it is also as epic as it is in the style of Fördärv. The duo also managed to improve the structure of the songs, thus achieving a higher level of composition. The production is studied in order to obtain harshness also from the point of view of pure sound, even if the drums are not very clear.
The album contains six songs that are a real blow on the neck! The first song “Legions of Death” begins with an arpeggio, but the fast blast beats come soon; the melody of the main riff is in style of the band. The second song “Taedium Vitae” is amazing, one of the best and the longest on the album; it is slower and more powerful and contains a long instrumental section with interesting evolutions. “Taedium Vitae” and “Putre Factio” contain crescendos to furious blast beats and ferocious screams. “Darkness of the Eternal Winter” is the shortest, but not the least powerful. The album closes with “As Life Turns Black...”, which lasts ten minutes; this song too contains an instrumental section with slow and obsessive rhythms.
Lyrically, the main theme of the album is death. This is evident from the title and the beautiful cover that depicts a botman who cannot but make one think of Charon, the ferryman of the underworld in the Greek mythology. All songs address one aspect that can be related to death, from a frightening point of view, as in “Legions of Death”, to a more philosophical point of view in “Taedium Vitae” and “Putre Factio”. For example in “Putre Factio” death is considered as liberation from the body.
In conclusion, with Between the Eternities Fördärv becomes something more than a revelation band, that is a solid reality in black metal. Their old school black metal is their originality. It must be said that it seems that many bands are returning to the origins, but Fördärv has rare class.
Notes:
Fördärv means ‘perdition, ruin’ in Swedish. Between the Eternities will be released on August 27, 2014 on Nigredo Records. A song was debuted in May; click here to listen to it.
Compared to the debut EP, Between the Eternities is less melodic, but it is much harsher, more aggressive and straight to the point, but it is also as epic as it is in the style of Fördärv. The duo also managed to improve the structure of the songs, thus achieving a higher level of composition. The production is studied in order to obtain harshness also from the point of view of pure sound, even if the drums are not very clear.
The album contains six songs that are a real blow on the neck! The first song “Legions of Death” begins with an arpeggio, but the fast blast beats come soon; the melody of the main riff is in style of the band. The second song “Taedium Vitae” is amazing, one of the best and the longest on the album; it is slower and more powerful and contains a long instrumental section with interesting evolutions. “Taedium Vitae” and “Putre Factio” contain crescendos to furious blast beats and ferocious screams. “Darkness of the Eternal Winter” is the shortest, but not the least powerful. The album closes with “As Life Turns Black...”, which lasts ten minutes; this song too contains an instrumental section with slow and obsessive rhythms.
Lyrically, the main theme of the album is death. This is evident from the title and the beautiful cover that depicts a botman who cannot but make one think of Charon, the ferryman of the underworld in the Greek mythology. All songs address one aspect that can be related to death, from a frightening point of view, as in “Legions of Death”, to a more philosophical point of view in “Taedium Vitae” and “Putre Factio”. For example in “Putre Factio” death is considered as liberation from the body.
In conclusion, with Between the Eternities Fördärv becomes something more than a revelation band, that is a solid reality in black metal. Their old school black metal is their originality. It must be said that it seems that many bands are returning to the origins, but Fördärv has rare class.
Notes:
Fördärv means ‘perdition, ruin’ in Swedish. Between the Eternities will be released on August 27, 2014 on Nigredo Records. A song was debuted in May; click here to listen to it.
| Tracklist: 1. Legions of Death 2. Taedium Vitae 3. Putre Factio 4. Darkness of the Eternal Winter 5. Embracing the Endless 6. As Life Turns Black... | 04:53 10:09 04:36 06:24 04:40 10:01 40:45 |
Personnel:
Gast - Drums, Vocals
En - Guitars, Bass
Gast - Drums, Vocals
En - Guitars, Bass
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com