Having blasted into the black metal underground back in 2015, followed up by a self-titled debut album, Nordjevel were soon laying waste to venues far and wide including slots at Bloodstock and Inferno which was where I was converted to the cause. An impressive sophomore album, further raging live shows and recent EP ‘Fenrir’ cemented their position among the upper echelons of Norwegian black metal and I was excited to hear their third album ‘Gnavhòl’.
The album opens with screams before launching into an unrelenting barrage of blast beats on top of subdued riffing. Doedsadmiral’s abrasive vocals soon kick in adding another vitriolic layer to the already caustic battery. The pace slows a little as the melody becomes more prominent before a searing guitar solo rips into the track. The intensity is kept up on ‘Of Rats and Men’ as I start to reflect that this album feels a little cleaner and dare I say more technical than previous releases – I mean that in a positive way. A lot of albums that go down this route feel sterile but this is not the case with ‘Gnavhòl’. While being razor sharp, the album manages to build a menacing atmosphere as track after track of malevolent darkness is unleashed. This is particularly the case on the album’s title track which rumbles along creating a sinister atmosphere during its vindictive eight minutes.
‘Antichrist Flesh’ is a little more aggressive and confrontational before ‘Spores of Gnosis’ which opens with a short melodic intro giving brief respite from the hostilities, before launching into the more familiar Norwegian black metal onslaught. The aggression is pushed even further on ‘Gnawing the Bones’ which is an unrelenting assault on the senses before the appropriately named ‘Endritual’ takes us back down the slower, more maleficent route closing the main album in glorious fashion. The trifold vinyl and CD come with a bonus track ‘Twisted Psychosis’ which is another masterclass in Norwegian black metal.
‘Gnavhòl’ is exactly what I hoped for from Nordjevel. This is aggressive, confrontational, vitriolic and downright nasty black metal. The mix is sharp and clean, but the album still has a dark undercurrent, and putting it simply, this album is battering. If Nordjevel, were climbing the ladder in the black metal underground, this album will surely catapult them up to the top.
(9/10 Andy Pountney)
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