Ελληνικά
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Norway
Label: Folter Records
Year: 2015
This is a Norwegian band that has been around for almost twenty five years now and the truth is, I don’t really understand why they are not as (in)famous as other compatriot bands who also started out back then. Isvind released, after some demos and an EP, their debut full length “Dark Waters Stir” in 1996 and it’s a delicate piece of primitive discord that should be known to any black metal nerd today, a record granting them the certain fanbase on it’s own.
After a break of five years (1997-2002), the band held up a release for a decade before returning with albums in 2011, 2013 and now their latest offering, which shows how they may be getting on track of an all in all active band. With the addition of two more members to the original line up, “Gud” might be the fullest Isvind album until now, containing nine powerful, diverse songs and a total of fourty five minutes of music.
The element of Norwegian black metal has a strong presence here but that should not catch anyone off guard. The vocals of the record are furious and violent, while there is some trully inventive work done on the guitars, expressing themselves with a bunch of neat, interesting riffs. Even if they wander around, one could say, the most common style of black metal, in tracks like “Ordet” or “Spiret”, one can feel the vibe of the record at it’s full, as well as experiencing some not listened before guitar melodies.
I was dubious at the beginning of the record with the opener’s “Flommen” introduction, which features thick chords and female chants as if we’re listening to the new Alcest record, but soon it turned into the natural sound I wanted and it turns out it’s one of the best tracks here. The band uses clean male and female vocals in other tracks as well (see “Dåren”) and forms heavy, epic passages. Such tracks are examples of how clean and harsh singing can walk holding hands, creating a great atmosphere for an album.
“Gud”, at times, pays homage to other Norwegian bands of the same kind. I was mostly thinking off Gorgoroth when listening to it, especially in pompous moments of “Tronen”, “Boken” and “Hyrden”, all really good tracks but not as memorable as the ones mentioned before. Moreover, the monotonous blasts in “Dåren” and “Himmelen” brought up feelings of Darkthrone, who must be the most commonly used name in black metal references ever.
The record closes with “Spiret”, a piece with hefty riffing and church bell samples, split in two main parts. In the middle of the track, everything goes almost quiet and feels like the record has ended, but then errupts for the last time to it’s second part and closes gloriously with the same bells and melancholic guitar melodies. The church bells were used in the previous track “Hyrden” as well, as if the band wants the listener to know the grave closure approaches and they hit very well with the compositions.
Generally, “Gud” has a pleasing, not overly noisy production and it’s the album I prefer most from their recent three releases. Isvind have progressed a lot, they combine their own elements with the classic recipes and it works. If you feel like listening to Norwegian black metal with a few ounces of novelty, dig this.
4/6
