By Bona Pjarren
In the spring of 2021, Nordvis received a demo from a young Swedish black metal duo. The cover letter stated that the material had been written with Nordvis in mind – and that they were the only label to receive it. While such tactics are not unheard of among bands fishing for a record deal, any doubts about the validity of this claim were dispelled upon first listen. Clearly, Blodtår were a Nordvis act even before their collaboration was formalized.
The underlying intention behind Blodtår is to weave together an immersive soundscape fit to accompany the feelings and impressions one experiences when admiring artwork by the likes of John Bauer and Theodor Kittelsen. Their stated intention is, by virtue of sheer conviction, to breathe new life into the long-forgotten woodland magic imbued in the timeless art of these old masters.
But, the big question is do they succeed. Well, there’s only one way to find out…
‘En Krona Av Is’ is the first track on the album and has a strong folk style riff latched onto intense drumming and trem picked black metal music scapes. ‘Ur Mörker’ provides more classically black metal fare with a firm nod to some nice melodic elements. There is a pleasant breakdown beginning halfway through. ‘Skymning’ has a strong strummed guitar intro leading to some interesting drumming and is predominately black metal.
First single ‘Den Fördärvande Sorgebundenheten’ is a lengthy track of wall of noise black metal. It does relent into something more melodic as it progresses but maintains its fairly intense stance. It has a pleasant acoustic piece at its end. ‘De Dansar På Berget’ is a short interesting interlude which precedes ‘I Avgrundens Djup’, possibly one of the more accessible tracks on the album with a heavier reliance on melody and an almost sea shanty feel to it.
‘Gånglåt’ is another fairly short instrumental, with some nice guitar parts being demonstrated here. ‘Uttala Dess Namn’ is an uncompromising slab of intense heavy metal. It has some nice harmonies from the guitars and takes no prisoners, with a good breakdown midway through. ‘En Brynja Av Barr’ is the last track and again quite lengthy, at more than seven minutes. There are some nice guitar melodies to offset the guttural vocals. Intense drumming and rhythm work add to a wall of noise quality that subside into some beautiful guitar work floated above a chord drone.
So did I enjoy this album? It certainly was on the edge of my comfort zone and I would probably have to give it a second listen. Some tracks worked better than others, and ‘I Avgrundens Djup’ stood out for me. It’s not a bad album but not the best I’ve heard either. Still, give it a try; you might like it if you’re a trve fan of Scandinavian BM.
- ‘Det förtegna förflutna‘ is released on Friday 21 April.
www.facebook.com/BlodtarOfficial
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.