After the recent review of Inexistenz, we will talk about another band from the stable of Naturmacht, a German label specialized in black metal that has been very active over the past five years in producing good underground bands from all over the world. Svadilfare is a one man band from Bergen, Norway, formed in 2005 at the hands of Ildsind. After putting the band on hold for a few years, Ildsind rewrote some old stuff for Svadilfare’s debut in 2012 with Den som herjer. Svadilfare proposes an atmospheric black metal that combines evocative atmospheres and more powerful moments.
The latest album Makt til uskyld, ‘Power to Innocence’, in my view also shows influences from death metal. The production of this album leaves something to be desired; a few imperfections are apparent in the mixing of the volumes of the instruments. In the first song “Flertall i blinde”, for example, the vocals drown out the other instruments, but in the second song, “Fem feite faar”, the vocals are too low. “Flertall i blinde” begins with a calm arpeggio, but the atmosphere changes suddenly with the start of a fast riff in blast beat. It is however only with the third song “Fossefall” that my interest is caught. “Fossefall” is an instrumental song that makes one’s imagination roam freely; the melody of the long solo, however, does not always match well with the accompaniment. The best song is the title track. The initial clean chords in flanger effect create immediately an expectation in the listener that is satisfied when the distorted riff begins, a glacial riff with a cryptic scream. The atmosphere is very reminiscent of German Coldworld, a band that Ildsind perhaps knows. In this case too, the melody of the solo does not always sound to be suited to the general atmosphere; it sounds a bit improvised. The next song is “Naiv”, I think the least well-made one in the album; it has an unusual riff in muted chords that sounds out of context, I would say some sort of a punch on the ear. “Svik” is another good song. There are good ideas, but they are too uneven. Overall, originality is not to be found and the album is often dull and uninteresting.
The texts are not published in the booklet. I asked Ildsind for clarification, and he told me that he did not want to publish the texts because they contain a lot of personal stuff. According to his statement the main subject around the album is rage towards animal abuse and religious hate. For those who do not know, Svadilfare, Old Norse Svaðilfari, is a famous horse in Norse mythology, the father of Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Odin. Therefore the aspect of animal abuse seems to me particularly appropriate. In the interpretation of Ildsind “Svadilfare is true embrace of nature and animal supremacy, with inspiration from Norwegian nature and Norse history.” He also informed me that it is possible to read only the text of the title track on the YouTube channel. The charge of hatred is evident, but also the torment for the impossibility of lasting happiness: “For en kort tid av glede / må den vakre skapning lide / En rikdom uten like / til den, til den som dreper slike / slike som deg”, ‘For a short time of joy / the beautiful creature must suffer / A richness without equal / to whoever, to whoever kills people / people like you’.
Ultimately, Makt till uskyld is sometimes a good album but it is often dull; the title track is worthy a listen.
Notes:
Makt till uskyld was released on October 25, 2013 on Naturmacht Productions.
The latest album Makt til uskyld, ‘Power to Innocence’, in my view also shows influences from death metal. The production of this album leaves something to be desired; a few imperfections are apparent in the mixing of the volumes of the instruments. In the first song “Flertall i blinde”, for example, the vocals drown out the other instruments, but in the second song, “Fem feite faar”, the vocals are too low. “Flertall i blinde” begins with a calm arpeggio, but the atmosphere changes suddenly with the start of a fast riff in blast beat. It is however only with the third song “Fossefall” that my interest is caught. “Fossefall” is an instrumental song that makes one’s imagination roam freely; the melody of the long solo, however, does not always match well with the accompaniment. The best song is the title track. The initial clean chords in flanger effect create immediately an expectation in the listener that is satisfied when the distorted riff begins, a glacial riff with a cryptic scream. The atmosphere is very reminiscent of German Coldworld, a band that Ildsind perhaps knows. In this case too, the melody of the solo does not always sound to be suited to the general atmosphere; it sounds a bit improvised. The next song is “Naiv”, I think the least well-made one in the album; it has an unusual riff in muted chords that sounds out of context, I would say some sort of a punch on the ear. “Svik” is another good song. There are good ideas, but they are too uneven. Overall, originality is not to be found and the album is often dull and uninteresting.
The texts are not published in the booklet. I asked Ildsind for clarification, and he told me that he did not want to publish the texts because they contain a lot of personal stuff. According to his statement the main subject around the album is rage towards animal abuse and religious hate. For those who do not know, Svadilfare, Old Norse Svaðilfari, is a famous horse in Norse mythology, the father of Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Odin. Therefore the aspect of animal abuse seems to me particularly appropriate. In the interpretation of Ildsind “Svadilfare is true embrace of nature and animal supremacy, with inspiration from Norwegian nature and Norse history.” He also informed me that it is possible to read only the text of the title track on the YouTube channel. The charge of hatred is evident, but also the torment for the impossibility of lasting happiness: “For en kort tid av glede / må den vakre skapning lide / En rikdom uten like / til den, til den som dreper slike / slike som deg”, ‘For a short time of joy / the beautiful creature must suffer / A richness without equal / to whoever, to whoever kills people / people like you’.
Ultimately, Makt till uskyld is sometimes a good album but it is often dull; the title track is worthy a listen.
Notes:
Makt till uskyld was released on October 25, 2013 on Naturmacht Productions.
| Tracklist: 1. Flertall i blinde 2. Fem feite faar 3. Fossefall 4. Makt til uskyld 5. Naiv 6. Svik 7. Tordenskrall 8. Blodtårer | 05:32 05:13 05:03 05:45 04:59 03:17 04:00 04:34 38:23 |
Personnel:
Ildsint - All instruments, Vocals
Ildsint - All instruments, Vocals
This is a guest review for Support Black Metal (www.supportblackmetal.com)
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com