Even on a summer’s day, the bleak and cold landscape of “Fanden på Veggen” (Devil on the Wall), which opens this album sears through any suggestion of warmth or comfort. My immediate reaction was “Taake” and sure enough, this is a Norwegian collective with connections to Taake, Grimnorth and Byfrost. After this initial piece of grim, knife-twisting nastiness with its eternal cries of suffering and menace, as if a snake is coming the mist to carry out its venomous attack, the mood turns to the raw thrashiness of “Brende Bruer Svart Metall”. It’s like old times as there’s no space for production, just thrash metal with a bit of black metal thrown it. It’s take it or leave it stuff.
The title track “Livlaus” (Lifeless) is in three parts. The first starts slowly and creepily before a murky atmosphere and blasting drums embark upon the stench-filled metal. It doesn’t stay still for long – after all, we couldn’t get too comfortable with it – and a classic black metal riff takes over before it changes shape again and an instrumental maelstrom intervenes and signals everlasting chaos. Changes of pace and angle are a hallmark of this album. The vocalist growls inexorably in Norwegian, but the section ends with a choral fanfare and uncompromising guitar menace. The concept of “Livlaus” is of a lost soul who is trying to find peace in the kingdom of the dead. There’s not much peace in the second segment of “Livlaus” which rages on blackly and forcefully. The atmosphere is that of harsh punishment and death. The third part adds fuel to the fire as you’d hope it might and emits power and bile by the bucket-load. I’m not sure I could describe this as a concept album but if it is, the concept is dark and nasty. Here and there strange sound effects and transforming guitar passages rise out of the dregs, captivate us and drag us along, always maintaining the dismal atmosphere. Such is “Ufornjengeleg” (Imperishable), which spreads its fiery message and just stops without excuse or justification, giving way to the driving force of “Skodde” (Shutter). “Skodde” blazes away in typically Norwegian style, interrupted briefly by the chasmic sounds of the underworld, before one more furious, irregularly bespattered razor-like assault brings down the shutters.
“Livlaus” is filthy, black and raw but with technical diversity. Musically it’s born of old black metal. There’s not much more to say about it than that.
(6.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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