I own a crusty old black metal split cd from 2004 featuring Svartsyn and Arckanum. It’s a particular favourite of mine. I can’t remember where I got it – some underground hell or from a cardboard box of goodies examined closely at a now forgotten concert, maybe. It’s all vile and horrible, more of a physical threat than that nasty stuff which claws away at you psychologically. Svartsyn, who are now on their 8th album, stand prominently alongside the Swedish black metal hordes characterised by the likes of Watain and Marduk.
The impression here is given of an anarchically orientated sound but closer scrutiny reveals that it’s a carefully shaped monolith of violence. The repressive sound, the blast beats and the rasping vocals all help to stir up the swirling atmosphere. There’s no messing about here. Out of “Revelation in the Waters” arises “Venom of the Mind”, more fire and brimstone in which the musical intensity represents the process of life being sucked away. “Demoness with Seven Names” is harsh, bleak and spits out an uncompromising battering, as the furious maelstrom continues. The riff is dark as you’d expect and the guitars ring out defiantly.
There are no remarkable changes in the tone or tempo. It’s not about this. The fire needs to burn, the guitars need to ring out brazenly and the violence needs to remain. The vocalist continues to preach nastiness and terror. Drums blast as if there is no other lifestyle option. There is some irregularity about “Carving a Temple” but the effect is the same. It’s just one blistering assault after another. Slow and ominous ones resound across the blackened landscape of devastation. It is “Eyes of the Earth”. Sparks fly. There’s no melancholy and there’s no emotion. It’s entirely unmelodic but it’s ever dark and malevolent. “Rising Beast” was my favourite track on this largely uniform album. It’s what black metal of this type is about. A change of tack makes us think. We’re on the hunt and we’re on the warpath. Ghastliness meets warmongering. Attack – attack. Evil runs through the final and track and title of the album “Black Testament”. Guitars ring out defiantly. I sense a statement being made. A violent course runs to the end.
“Black Testament” does more than go through the black metal motions, but it’s hard to get away from the idea of a template, albeit of the fiery kind. I have to confess I didn’t get the same buzz out of this as I did out of that split (called “Kaos Svarta Mar / Skinning the Lambs”, in case you’re interested). Maybe it’s the passage of time. Even if it’s portraying a grim world which has been portrayed many times, “Black Testament” still has plenty of spirit.
(6.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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