….And forever the black metal scene shall spew forth face meltingly excellent music. And so it shall be that each time a band like Vidargängr shall appear they shalt sound like the whining buzz of nails flying through the air to flay the very skin from your flesh. And even though you will righteously know that you have verily heard a hundred times a hundred bands like them before you will also feel like this is like hearing black metal for the first time and, indeed, all over again. So strap on your biggest set of sonic ear muffs and seat yourself into that dangerous looking chair with straps and wires coming out of it and, lo, prepare for the sound of the second wave of black metal into each orifice and receive the punishment that is due.
Yes, this is black metal done well. A bit of Marduk, a bit of Mayhem and a bit of Diocletian – or perhaps the perfect mixture of Scandinavian frost, stomping martial aggression and occult black metal. Either way, it’s an intense combination. At times like a mailed fist and at others a creeping melodic dance that constantly threatens to be engulfed in the chaos of its own distortion. After the obligatory but well conceived intro the band kicks off with a venom-spitting statement of intent with Burning Abyss which is immediately followed up with a second assault, No More Lust, that leaves you in no doubt that there is something malicious and powerful going on with Vidargängr.
The rumbling approach of third track Contempt heralds the rest of the album which, although rarely deviates from the band’s chosen path which leads straight through several mountain ranges and into the jaws of hell itself. Final track Thy Nothingness is a mighty triumph that reminds me of the kind of grinning curve ball that bands like Marduk throw up every now and again. Crushing insanity grappling with ecstatic bliss as Vidargängr releases all the aggression and tension of the first half an hour or so of occult war metal crystallizes in a moment of wild-eyed genius.
Some black metal bands feel like they’re out to prove something or just emulate their betters. But bands like Vidargängr feel like they’ve had no option but to put all their creative energies and ugly urges into musical form or have to make some very challenging confessions to the local priest. Psychological eruptions in music form. A World That Has To Be Opposed is perhaps an album that has reminded me what it’s all about at a time when I have been looking for something new. A reminder that sheer force and aggression will always have its place if it is done with supreme conviction.
…And, so, after more than two decades black metal shall spew forth excellent music. And so it shall be that Vidargängr shalt surge forth with the buzz of six inch nails flying through the air to flay the very skin from your flesh. All hail Vidargängr.
(8/10 Reverend Darkstanley)
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