‘Nedom og Nord’ is the latest album from Norwegian melodic black metal crew Iskald (with Iskald roughly translating to ‘Ice cold’ – but you probably worked that out anyway). This is their fourth foray into full length album territory, and judging by what little of their previous material I’ve heard before pressing play on this, it seems they haven’t jumped too far from the iceberg sound wise.
Yes, all the necessary ‘minds eye’ boxes are ticked upon listening to this album – dudes dressed in black, whipping their hair manically whilst battering their instruments on icy cliffs, angry snowdrifts and barren snowscapes glowering coldly in the background – think Immortal minus the face paint for the chill factor, but the musicality falls more comfortably into Emperor-like territory at times, with plenty of slower sections brimming with melancholy, slowly strummed frostbitten key progression and expertly put together sequences which are more often than not a delight to behold. There’s a haunting presence to Iskald’s music which doesn’t betray its cold outlook – a constant sense of gloom which reaches further than just the weather. Take for example track 4 ‘The Silence’; it rattles along with a constant sadness at its heart, multifaceted layers all adding hidden depths. A little guitar play behind the main riffage here, a short burst of symphony to accompany the drum-work there, all amalgamating into a generally impressive whole.
With each of the six tracks falling somewhere between the 7-11 minute range, every song gets its fair time to air without ever outstaying its welcome. In fact, I’d have to say that my favourite thing about this album is when the guitars go off on a tangent from the riff that precedes them, beginning to weave their icy spells – some would call this meandering, I would say it’s more like spellbinding. It’s almost progressive in its song writing at times – much in the same way the aforementioned Emperors later works were.
All in all, this isn’t your usual common all garden styled frostbitten grimness, its way beyond that both in terms of musicianship and song writing. Every spin will reveal more of each track, and it will burrow deep into your psyche for weeks. There’s no two ways about it; this is impressive stuff which is well worth your time investigating.
(8/10 Lars Christiansen)
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