It’s been a long five years since we’ve had an album from this Norwegian foursome. Which is probably a good thing, considering their last few releases haven’t been their best by a long shot. Basically, since 2011’s V, the band has struggled to retain their days-of-yore sound while trying to expand on it and deliver something fresh. Having left Season of Mist and returned to Indie Recordings, now is the time to drop something new and exciting—especially if you’ve once again enlisted the mighty Mistur’s keyboard wizard, Espen Bakketeig, to lend a hand in the finished product. One spin in and Vreid fans will find a lot of what you’ve come to expect from the band, while also exploring some surprising new directions that are sure to drop your jaw. But, is that a good or bad thing for The Skies Turn Black?

As has become the norm for the band, we’re blessed with some killer guest appearances by the aforementioned Espen Bakketeig and Djerv’s Agnete Kjølsrud, a smart decision by Kampfar on the amazing Ofidians Manifest. While Bakketeig’s performance on 2021’s solid Wild North West, I felt he was underutilized when crafting his key atmospheres or lustful piano passages. Thankfully, that is not the case for The Skies Turn Black. Outside of the emotional piano interludes, you’ll find plenty of powerful, spacey, and quirky key atmospheres throughout. And Kjølsrud’s contributions to the almost gothy “Loving the Dead” make it one of the best songs the band has ever penned.¹

The album begins on a strong note with “From These Woods,” which is one of the longer and more epic tracks. After opening with some soothing clean and acoustic guitars, the black metal assault ensues. After passing through a dark alley of echoing clean-vocal support, the new riff change is nastier and heavier than ever. But the moment you get settled in, the song comes to a screeching halt, unloading beautiful piano, soaring guitars, and lush, clean vocals. When it concludes, you’re whiplashed with a vicious attack because the fucking song still has two minutes to go. Another track that has similarities is “Smile of Hate.” This one has a simple but headbangable riff in the vein of Amon Amarth, that marches along at one point and collapses into another impressive piano passage. This time, a little less ethereal and more like the piano and key work of Dimmu Borgir.

But, like all Vreid records in the last decade, there’s a point where things get real weird. Not in a negative way, like some previous material. On The Skies Turn Black, it begins with “Kraken.” It turns out this track is part of the soundtrack to this year’s Norwegian “blockbuster,” Kraken.² But being more synth-driven than guitar-driven, it has an eerie vibe that actually would work equally well in the movie Sorcerer.³ It’s not a standout track, but it’s the perfect introduction to “Loving the Dead” because it uses the same elements. As mentioned, this song stands way out because Kjølsrud dominates on vocals. This eight-minute epic takes you through so many emotions, from Kjølsrud’s vocals to the intertwined guitar work and the climactic finish. This special piece is definitely a Grier SotY contender.

There are plenty of other high moments on this record, which is hella nice to hear for a change. The track that really loses me, though, is “Echoes of Life.” It’s not a bad song, but it’s an odd duck of ’70s progness. While it’s smooth and clean, it’s too old-timey to fit with the rest of the album. Thankfully, the follow-up closer “The Earth Rumbles” reignites the fire before the album concludes. If “Echoes of Life” ended the record, I might be a bit more upset. But, I’m pleased to say The Skies Turn Black is Vreid’s best album since V. Which is wild to say considering there are four full-lengths in that time. The master is nicely done, letting everyone shine when it matters—especially the bass, which has always been a major staple to their sound. If the skies really are going to turn black, I’m here for it. After all, that’s better than the color they are these days.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: Stream | Format Reviewed: Stream deez nutz
Label: Indie Recordings
Websites: vreid.bandcamp.com | vreid.no | facebook.com/vreidofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 6th, 2026

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Opera, the fifth full-length LP from the Italian symphonic death metal juggernaut Fleshgod Apocalypse, marks the band’s first record since 2019’s Veleno. Some may recall that in 2021, the band’s mastermind, Francesco Paoli (bass and vocals), suffered from a mountain climbing accident that landed him in the hospital. During the harrowing ordeal that followed, he and the band had little sense of the future of Fleshgod Apocalypse. It should come as no surprise that Francesco and the others burst into a creative frenzy upon improving and returning to band activities. From the remnants of this tragedy, Opera was born.

Opera marks a significant change in Fleshgod Apocalypse’s trajectory. Inspired by the Opéra Lyrique, a genre less grandiose than the opera you’re thinking of, Opera contains episodic dialogues or confessionals with the imaginary characters of Francesco’s episode. To accomplish this, Veronica Bordacchini—featured on the album’s cover—was enlisted to play the role of these companions: death, life, and hope.¹ And while the band has not changed, with Francesco Ferrini (Piano), Fabio Bartoletti (Guitar), and Eugene Ryabchenko (“Drums”) filling out the act, Opera is not your Monarch’s Fleshgod Apocalypse.

The core of Fleshgod Apocalypse’s sound hasn’t changed markedly. Blasty, heavily replaced drums prop up guitars and orchestras that trade places as the leading musical characters. The mix sports audible but unremarkable bass, and Paoli’s guttural vocal attack over the top. In its peak—and most recognizable—form, Fleshgod Apocalypse is fast, heavy, and evokes Europe in the time when wigs were a common fashion accessory, with the guitars carrying melodies and engaging in Vivaldian gymnastics² (“Morphine Walz”). Elsewhere, the sound is dark, dramatic, and heavy, utilizing grinding drums and blasting French horns or orchestral hits to create an undeniable tension (“At War with My Soul,” which recalls the excellent horn compositions from King). The songwriting isn’t progressive, but it sure as hell is technical, with ridiculous riffs that, at their best, dance on a bed made by lush orchestrations (“Per Aspera Ad Astra”). And when it’s less successful, the guitars take a Nightwishian backseat, leaving the orchestrations to do the heavy lifting.

Rather than being the “darker” or “heavier” album bands often tout in meaningless interviews, Opera is a significantly tighter and—Padre, perdonami—poppier record than its predecessors. Opera features short songs, including an instrumental intro and outro, and the album clocks in at a tight 44 minutes. This means there are eight episodes, none longer than roughly five and a half minutes. But rather than just tightening the writing, Paoli and company also made new stylistic choices that differentiate Opera from its predecessors. “I Can Never Die” features a piano breakdown of the chorus and a Eurovision key change. “Matricide 8.21” starts sounding like a Nightwish song from Once; no double kick, 4/4 time signature, and heavy on Veronica’s voice. More tellingly, the song also features simple melodies carried on the guitars, with almost no neoclassical affectation. Moments like these speak to a significant perspective shift.

Veronica’s performances are a shifting character throughout Opera, lending it more melody and marking a tonal shift for Fleshgod Apocalypse. Rather than sticking to her opera soprano—as she did so charmingly on “Paramour” from King—Bordacchini performs different vocal interpretations meant to embody different characters. On “I Can Never Die,” she (mostly) eschews her formal technique for a straight tone, while “Bloodclock” finds her straddling an unaffected pop approach with operatic emphases. Veronica’s most effective and unexpected performance comes on “Morphine Waltz,” where she adopts an almost punky scream like Agnete Kjølsrud (Djerv). Of course, opera is her greatest strength and part of Fleshgod Apocalypse’s core idiom, and she does that frequently and well. But while Opera showcases Veronica’s ample gifts, the use of straight tone and poppy cleans unexpectedly pushes Fleshgod into territory fitting of Napalm Records.

The combination of all these elements gives the album an undeniably poppy feel. The varied songwriting that, at times, leans into more heartfelt and balladesque territory (“Till Death Do Us Part”) or seems to be drawing from pop writing (“I Can Never Die,” “Matricide 8.21,” “Bloodclock”). Prominent melodic vocals from Veronica, with clean, tight songwriting, give the creeping sensation that Fleshgod is trying to take a Nightwishian turn toward more accessible, less grandiose music. The final element is Opera’s slick and polished presentation. Working with Jacob Hansen again, the album clocks in at a DR6 and is loud, but well-balanced. Even though King’s drum tone was better, Hansen’s grip on Fleshgod’s sound is firmer on Opera. He deftly handles Ferrini’s orchestrations and helps the vocal arrangements to ascend into the same stratosphere as Turilli’s excellent vocal compositions. The choral parts are huge and lend operatic gravity to the band’s sound.

Opera does an excellent job of balancing the old and the new, and most importantly, it justifies its artistic choices. Framing Opera as a lyric opera is a brilliant strategic move because it discredits criticisms of a poppier sound by foregrounding the artist’s vision and post-traumatic growth of what was a harrowing time for Paoli and his compatriots. Furthermore, Opera is simultaneously and undeniably fun, heady, and technically impressive. While I suspect Fleshgod Apocalypse ‘lost’ its trvest death metal fans after Oracles, I can see Opera being a divisive record for current fans because of its novel traits. And yet, I find it hard to argue with quality and the ability to take a base of brutal death metal and forge a product this addictive and immediate. Despite not being in love with the idea of a future Fleshgod that eschews its brutal base and embraces more simplistic melodies and composition, that day has not yet arrived. So, while I miss King’s grand opera aspirations, I admire the execution of the unified vision from which the album benefits.

Rating: Great
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 192 kb/s mp3³
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: fleshgodapocalypse.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/fleshgodapocalypse
Release Worldwide: August 23rd, 2024

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Actually, they have to do more than just show their mettle, Deathless Legacy have a sizable amount of ground to make up for their ill-received debut album, Dance with Devils, a record that was castigated by the ever-erudite Diabolus in Muzaka. Our man lamented the album’s tepid horror-rock shlock and with only twelve scant months between Dance with Devils and Rituals of Black Magic, those hoping that the band would take their music towards greener pastures will come away disappointed. I on the other hand can’t be counted among the jaded, my tolerance for symphonic histrionics stemming from my partial Italian ancestry and a high pain tolerance. Anguish is mercifully absent from the onset, as after a superfluous intro track, the album makes inroads into your subconsciousness with the infectious “Rituals of Black Magic,” an anthemic fist-pumper suitable for cheering on an undead army.

I’ll grant you the music lacks originality and overall composition is rote for the most part, but that is the calculus of a band that views itself more as performers putting on a spectacle than trying to be counted amongst history’s greatest. It is also a consequence of placing the vocals front-and-centre, but that is understandable considering the magnetic talents of singer Steva. Her lip-curling sneer on “The Abyss” matches those of Agnete from Djerv (what ever happened to those guys?) but can also stretch to emotional lamentations like those found on the doom-like “Dominus Inferni” and on “Vigor Mortis” where Steva does her best Bruce Dickinson impression. While the song writing is content to support but not supplant its laudable mistress, there are moments of genuine invention, specifically on “Bloodbath” that fuse a crescendoing guitar solo and keyboard arrangement that wouldn’t be out of place on a Dream Theater record, a deviation that comes as a welcome surprise.

Sadly, such invention is the exception rather than the norm as extolled earlier the music on Rituals of Black Magic has little ambition beyond serving as a passive framework to under-gird the vocals. Riffs are diffuse and bland, barely creasing the bedsheets, keys are ever-present but lacking in character and the percussion is so anodyne that you could remove the drummer from the equation and I doubt anyone would notice. The simplicity sometimes works in the band’s favor, the clipped riffing in “Haruspex” combined with the way Steva bites off every syllable in the chorus makes for a catchy cut. And catchiness is what Deathless Legacy is aiming for with every fiber of their being, but in doing so the music often lacks depth and fails to register with any meaningful impact. Worse still, there is an unnecessary number of filler tracks on the album, a third of which could be culled and in doing so would transform the record from a chore to a guilty pleasure.

These criticisms apply if your only medium in which to imbibe Deathless Legacy is via listening to their album, but considering how much emphasis they put around pageantry and aesthetics it’s likely that seeing the band live is the real measure of their mettle. Being Italians, the comparison can be made to opera. Yes, you can listen to Turandot or Madam Butterfly in the comfort of your own home, but it’s a pale imitation to seeing the real thing on stage, drinking in the costumes, set dressing and the raw power of the performers. Deathless Legacy, like the now packed away Christmas tree, offers little once you strip them of their twinkling lights and gaudy paraphernalia but take the time to see them in the flesh and maybe they’ll resemble more than a synthetic frame good for temporary cheer.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 160 kbps mp3
Label: Scarlet Records
Website: deathlesslegacy.it | facebook.com/deathlessmetal
Releases Worldwide: January 19th, 2018

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Metal has been doing some collective soul searching for a while. The retro-thrash and retro-death movements – along with the ever-growing vest metal movement – have been built on a longing back to the simple, the original, the true. In this push, a lot of bands have been making the claim to the true metal legacy and Kobra and the Lotus are no exception. The band’s self-titled, 2nd full length release seems marked as a throwback to classic heavy metal with a touch of German melodic thrash and power metal thrown in. To me it sounds a lot like europower but hey, with my lack of credentials who am I to say?

But you know what? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Kobra and the Lotus’ new record is a combination of European power metal with the North American hard rock tradition. Nowhere is this more obvious than in vocalist Kobra’s performance. Her presence is similar to a blending of Geoff Tate’s early Queensrÿche material (before he became an insufferable douche) and the late Michael Grant’s material from Onward and Crescent Shield (RIP). Her trad metal style often wanders into faux arabic melodies and can be a bit far up in the mix, but is tough and convincing.

Musically, Kobra and the Lotus doesn’t wander too far astray from the tropes of the genre – but this is welcome because they’re very good at it. The songs are tightly written, pushing out no longer than 4 minutes and 40 seconds long and they also seem to draw heavily from power metal, hard rock or NWoBHM influences. Tracks like “Nyana (My Eyes),” “Welcome to My Funeral” or opener “50 Shades of Evil” draw on the Stratovarius and (old) Sonata Arctica school of heavy metal – dropping the machine gun double bass pretty much non-stop, with lightning quick guitar riffs and catchy melodies as the lever that moves the song. But there’s a more traditional hard rock thing going on here, too. Single “Forever One” starts out with a hand-clapping part and talk box that totally evokes Bon Jovi (before defaulting to europower). “My Life,” on the other hand, opens with a Killers era Iron Maiden riff if I’ve heard one – with the bass bubbling along underneath, though unfortunately not exactly Steve Harris. Hell, they even drop into a danceable groove on the otherwise-not-so-great “No Rest for the Wicked,” before dropping into thrashy German melodic metal for the chorus.

Still, for all the good and enjoyable here, there are some drawbacks. While Kobra is a great vocalist for what she does, her presence is a tad monotonous. While she doesn’t lack feel like the artless Ripper Owens, she certainly doesn’t have the dynamic presence of Huntress’s Jill Janus or the versatality of Djerv’s Agnete Kjølsrud or Symphony X’s Russel Allen. Indeed, like Tate or Grant, her voice can sometimes border on grating and one wishes that she would approach the vocals with more dynamics in mind. And while the record is good and short, the last four tracks “Sanctuary,” “Lover of the Beloved,” “No Rest for the Wicked,” and “Aria of Karmika” kind of drag a bit more than I’d like. Combine that with a production that gets a bit loud and distorts some times (there’s a really weird section in “Sanctuary” where it sounds like the drums get pushed all the way to the front of the mix and the whole shit just becomes a wall of fucking noise) and things could be a bit better.

All of that said, I still dig this record quite a bit. Particularly “Nyana (My Eyes)” and “Heaven’s Veins” stand out as pummeling, fantastic power metal tracks. The great melodies, hooky guitar work and dominating vocal performance make this one of the best trad or power records I’ve heard in a long time and I have listened to this album quite a bit since I got it. It might not be Record o’ the Year territory, but I think that Kobra and the Lotus have it in ’em. Give these Canadalanders a shot, and get ready to hear a hell of a lot about this band in years to come as I believe they have been dubbed The Next Big Thing™.

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Indeed, in 1998, black metal was starting to get really popular. Or, well, black metal bands from Norway were starting to get really popular. In a few years The Kovenant and Mayhem would be making it onto a lot of people’s radars in more popular circles, eschewing the kvlt status that the scene had until that point. Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk had been released the year before, raising the bar for quality coming out of the scene, but also quite accessible in itself. People who didn’t like Translyvanian Hunger or De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas did like stuff like Grand Declarations of War. It is in this context that Trelldom released their second record Til et annet…

Made up of Ghaal on vocals, Valgard on guitars and Sir Sick (who is now in Djerv) on bass, this record is some of the best black metal I own. I know I’m a reviewer and it’s my job, but it’s actually kind of hard to say exactly what it is that kicks so much ass with this record; it’s kind of a confluence of things. First, the riffing here is fucking stellar. Every track on this record has at least one really memorable riff; often times with bridges and breakdowns that other bands could only dream of perfecting (see: “Høyt opp i dypet” for an example). And while the record still has that classic Norwegian rawness in a lot of ways, it doesn’t sound like it was recorded in a coffee can or something, so it’s rather accessible, really.

But it’s not just that, Til et annet… is varied, weird and unique. Laced with Ghaal’s raw, insane screams, the music is often more eery than raw and more groovy than blasty. “Min død til ende” starts out with an Einherjer-like riff and continues with great guitar harmonies, never speeding up past a tom-driven mid-paced groove. “Til is skal eg forbli” is representative of the more “traditional” trem-picked driven black metal tracks, but the harmonies and riffing are quality and memorable. On “Svinfylking – til krig” the riffing reminds me a lot of Windir (a band I’d not heard at the time) and Sir Sick’s bass work has a folky lilt to it. These varied and interesting riffs sound a lot more inspired than almost anything I’ve heard coming out of Norway in the 14 years since this came out, and remind more of Taake than anything else. They stick, they’re memorable and the tracks are well composed.

The icing on the cake, though, is Ghaal’s insane and ridiculously memorable vocals. Over the top of exemplary black metal riffing he screams, hisses, growls and moans. His voice is the utter epitome of insanity; of which one can only feel and can never really know. On the aformentioned “Svinfylking – til krig,” for example, it sounds like he recorded 3 tracks and each one of them is totally different than the others. Each of the tracks screaming and retching and highly distorted. It’s like a collage of insanity that only Ghaal could do. On “Slave til en kommande natt” the listener is regaled with possibly the worst clean vocals I’ve ever heard in my entire life; and yet I can’t stop listening to this track! It’s weird, compelling shit and it sounds like someone got out of the fucking asylum, just in time to wander into the studio and croak into the microphone about the end of times.

Til et annet… is not the record that most come away with when they think of Norwegian black metal, and Trelldom is not the band they think of when they think of the late second wave of black metal—more likely Emperor or Taake. But there is something special about this one album from these crazy ass Norwegian recluses. If you’ve never heard this album before, you should make an effort to get your hands on it. The previous record Til evighet… isn’t as good and honestly I never even knew that they released Til minne… in 2007. But this is a record that is a moment in time that shouldn’t be forgotten.

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So here’s an old record that has been out since June (so I guess it’s not old, but in the world of reviewing that’s a motherfucking eternity). I’ve been meaning to get to it and I just really haven’t had the time or level of mental stability to do it. But now that we’re on a more even keel and the urge to kill is lessening a bit, I’ve been able to come back to this one. And boy am I glad I’ve come back to this one. Because as I said when I reviewed their EP: Djerv is something that is actually truly cool and unique.

By now you’re all probably familiar with Agnete Kj¸lsrud, who of late has done guest vocals for Solefald and Dimmu Borgir (and even has a video with the latter band). She fronts Djerv with her unique and dynamic vocal approach. Djerv also sports Erlend Gjerde (Wardruna) and Stian KÃ¥rstad of Trelldom as the band and they offer what I would say is one of the most unique approaches to hard rock that I’ve heard in a really long time. I commented in my previous review that Djerv sounded a bit like alternative rock mixed with black metal and Djerv doesn’t change the approach. The previous EP is included here, which helps, but the new tracks here also show off this dynamic and unique approach.

So what does that even mean? A mixture of alternative rock and black metal? Well, musically it can be pretty simplistic and chordy as one would expect. It kind of reminds me Elastica or The Breeders and that early 90s chick rock in a sense, except its denser, heavier and way more interesting. A great example of this is the track “Ladder to the Moon” which was also featured on the Headstone EP, it takes that sort of grungy vibe and then throws double kick under them just adding a bit of a more metal sensibility. On the other hand “Only I Exist,” one of the new tracks, has guitars that sound like they could be on a Trelldom or Taake record, only without the blast. The true is same of “Abmuse,” but after the intro where you could’ve expected the croaks of a corpse-painted and evil Norwegian, instead you get the dynamic and fantastic vocals of Agnete.

Sometimes it is the band that makes the vocalist good, but sometimes it’s the vocalist that makes the band good (think System of a Down). In this case, while the band is good and the music is interesting, it is Agnete’s dynamic vocal approach which ranges between punk rock raw grrl kind of stuff and smooth, beautiful, nuanced vocals that really show off her range and ability that make the music work in an ostensibly “hard rock” or “alternative rock” setting. Djerv can wander into the creepy and the dark and bring it back around all because they have a serious talent on their hands vocally and she is the ribbon that ties this package together.

Finally, while Djerv isn’t exactly the heaviest metal you’ve ever heard, it’s raw enough to keep you interested and it’s actually something your non-metal friends might even dig. I certainly never anticipated some of the comparisons I’ve made while listening to this record, but I don’t see this as drawback. Instead, Djerv’s dynamic approach is a boon. They keep shit interesting and the music is fun and engaging while being heavy and crunchy at times and still sounds downright malevolent at other times. Djerv is a great record and I strongly recommend that you run out and pick this up. It’s out everywhere (except the US? But certainly you can find it via online stores like The End Records or something) and it’s worth giving a shot.

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It’s that time again! Dimmu Borgir is releasing a new album. It’s been a while, actually, and after having a scruff in the media with former keyboardist Mustis and having the mighty vocalist and for show bassist Simen Hestnæs leave the band (to the joy of Arcturus and Borknagar fans), there was actually a bit of anticipation to see what would happen with this album. I, like many, believed what Mustis said about writing all the music in the band and not getting the credit he deserved, and Abrahadabra proves that I think, but instead of being an indictment of the band, it may have been an idictment of Mustis’ writing.

I have to be honest with you, though, I haven’t been interested in a new Dimmu Borgir since Puritanical Euphoric Pretentiousness was released in 2001. While I saw the band live on that tour, I was just generally unimpressed with the record. This was followed up by the even more mediocre Death Cult Armageddon, a re-release of Stormblast (that admittedly I never heard) and 2007’s In Sorte Diabli, a record that in spite of the size of Shagrath’s headpiece, wasn’t at all interesting (thought the imagery was really the height of their promotional strength). These records have just been getting more and more stale and uninspired, to the point where the only reason I was going to check out anything that had to do with Dimmu Borgir was that they had a devil shooting fire out of his/her head on their mightily designed webpage (sadly, said devil is now gone).

So when I first got Abrahadabra I was pretty much expecting another steaming pile of shit, but this time sans their excellent vocalist and the guy who’d been doing all their orchestral programming and writing (if you believe him). Of course, two things may have slipped my attention, first off, Galder is in the band and his Old Man’s Child records have riffs upon riffs upon riffs that rule. And secondly, Dimmu Borgir is Dimmu Borgir, they’ve got the money to hire people to make their orchestral stuff not suck, and not suck it does. So instead of being a heaping pile of evil shit, this record has some pretty awesome stuff on it.

Let’s talk about those awesome things, first, the production is amazing, the orchestrations are really, really good and the use of a real orchestra and choir adds a dimension to the music that really had been missing on their previous stuff (despite their orchestrations being very, very professional sounding). Secondly, the writing on here is just really outstanding in certain places. While the lyrics on the opening track “Born Treacherous” are treacherously stupid, the music itself is riffy and awesome. “Gateways”, the other single, has some of the best vocals I’ve heard in a long time from the female side (turns out Djerv frontwoman Agnete Kjølsrud is a hot commodity in Norway right now). The track “Dimmu Borgir” is actually pretty awesome, with the orchestrations really showing off the best of the melodies the song has to offer, and the same is true of “Ritualist” as well.

This record really has life, and it has continued to grow on me as I’ve listened to it more. I wasn’t so impressed at first, but the more I let it get under my skin the better it’s gotten. This really is the first Dimmu Borgir record that I would actively choose to take out and listen to since Spiritual Black Dimensions (which is my favorite). While this is not the Dimmu of old, per se, these guys didn’t sound like this early on not because they wanted to have lower quality production and cheesy quality, but because they were a metal band from Norway without a lot of commercial success. Now they have the money to put out the over-the-top products that they want to put out, and they do that very well, regardless of whether or not you like it.

While I have minor complaints about the record, for example that in several places the choir sounds like it’s straight out of a Harry Potter film (“Bum, bum, bum, BUM BUM BUM BUM BUM!” Such a bad choice..) and the clean vocals (with the exception of Kjølsrud’s and certain parts in “Endings and Continuations”) are not as good as Simen’s, I think in general this is a step in the right direction. If the band can continue writing this kind of material with strength and conviction and keep the budget high enough to really get an orchestra to do exactly what they want, they’re going to continue producing good records. Change may have been the best thing for the band, while there may be some mediocrity going on here (there is just some filler on here), I’m glad to see this giant of commercial black metal right the ship a bit.

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I don’t make a real habit of reviewing an EP because EPs aren’t really considered to be a “happening” in the musical sense of the word. They aren’t an event in the traditional sense that an LP is, rarely longer than about 15 or 20 minutes it’s hardly not anything to get too excited about. But Norway’s Djerv, a combination of vocalist Agnete Kjølsrud (Animal Alpha), Erlend Gjerde (Wardruna) and Stian KÃ¥rstad of the mighty Trelldom, have created a fascinating fusion of sounds that was something that I didn’t want to pass up.

I can say with all certainty that this isn’t something that is going to appeal to everyone, but from the opening notes of the title track “Headstone”, I was pretty much hooked. The music is like a combination between the punk rock female fronted bands of the 80s, vaguely gothic undertones and trad rock with a black metal sensibility to it. To be honest, I’ve never heard anything quite like it before, but I can say that I’m not a big fan of any female fronted rock bands these days (that I can think of off the top of my head), so Djerv is pretty groundbreaking for me.

Agnete Kjølsrud is actually a hell of a vocalist, with her melodies and style ranging between the near amelodic (and slightly reminiscent of Morphine) in “Headstone” and the gentle and delicate in “Immortal”, she shows that she is a highly dynamic vocalist with a really unique voice. I have to say, as well, that Stian KÃ¥rstad’s guitar work is also helpful in creating what I think is a really unique sound. There are clear parts where it’s obvious to me that this is the same dude who was in Trelldom, particularly on the second track “Ladder to the Moon”, at the end of “Headstone”, and at the beginning of the track “Immortal”, where the heavier parts definitely give a nod to Til Et Annet…, but it’s like taking that raw playing and mixing it into something this commercially viable and different works as pretty excellent camouflage.

Every track on this EP is worth listening to, as I’m sure you can tell. At 12 and a half minutes, however, it’s hard to say anything really conclusive about the band, except that if I’d received this as a demo I’d’ve probably pursued a contract. There is some pretty serious potential in these tracks and if the band can maintain the sort of originality and intensity for the full length (which incidentally will be out in March[ish] 2011), then we’re looking at a band that I’m going to be following with baited breath.

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