I have to admit that although I listened to DØDSFALL a lot in the early days, and their debut album ‘Den Svarte Skogen’ in particular really struck a chord with me, they had fallen off my radar a little in recent years, so I was looking forward to hearing their latest release, ‘Døden Skal Ikke Vente’ and hopefully rekindling my passion for their work.

From the outset it struck me how much DØDSFALL had evolved and I was completely blown away. ‘Hemlig Vrede’ gets things going with a drum salvo before rasping vocals are spit forth with rancour over a blackened thrash backdrop. A sinister but melodic interlude slows the tempo and is soon joined by demonic spoken word vocals, before building to a more traditional black metal finale. ’Tåkefjell’ is more atmospheric with a haunting melody pulsating at its heart before ‘Svarta Drömmar’, opens with a solid black metal onslaught which soon gives way to a haunting spoken word passage, before escalating to a confrontational finale. The track is more mid paced and has an ominous brooding atmosphere as a result, perhaps in keeping with the track title which I think translates to ‘Black Dreams’

‘Grå Himlar’ may be familiar to followers of the band, having been released as a video clip, showcasing a slower mid-section sandwiched between infernal misanthropic black metal. A chugging riff intro leads into ‘Kampsalmer’ as prominent guitar work comes to the fore before aggressive black metal wrestles back control. ‘I De Dødens Øyne’ opens with majestic melodies and maintains an epic feel throughout before ‘Ødemarkens Mørkedal’ delivers a more cumbersome, oppressive atmosphere including an interlude of acoustic guitar and diabolical growls. ‘För Alltid I Min Sjæl’ is a malevolent slice of piercing black metal leading into ‘Ondskapelse’ with a hypnotic rhythmic pulsation at its core, before short instrumental piece ‘Skogstrollet’ closes the album.

The doctrinal venom and vitriol of old are still present, but this album is also epic and majestic and while it is clearly Scandinavian black metal with strong traditional elements it is also forward thinking and continues the band’s evolution. This is easily DØDSFALL’s strongest release to date and I am keeping an eye open for any live shows that I might be able to catch on my travels.

(9/10 Andy Pountney)

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https://dodsfall.bandcamp.com/album/d-den-skal-ikke-vente