To this point, if you’d asked me to say what I knew about Green Bay, Wisconsin, I’d have said cheese, American football and cold weather. I now know that Vredensdal come from this city. The title of this, their fourth album release, gives a clue about what to expect. The band’s style is billed as “New Wave of US Black Metal”. As I understood it before listening to the album and reading the description, this means black metal of a grooving and thrashing variety.

The sonic devotion starts with a twisty little acoustic piece. I’m not really sure of its purpose, as one blood-curdling scream later we’re into the harsh world of “The Chaos Rite”. Might this not have been the song to wake up both listener and the dead instead of a creepy, unrelated opener? Anyway, that’s what they did and “The Chaos Rite” is a fine song – fluid, fiery and gets us going. The guitar work is flamboyant and expansive. The riff of “The Eye in the Well” stands out. The guitars blaze. The vocalist growls. “The Eye in the Well” is another exciting track – black metal yes, but the sound marking a good night out or a festival, I’d say. It does slow down towards the end, not quite to flesh-erasing proportions but sufficient to remind us of that proclaimed devotion to darkness. Meanwhile Vredensdal are having a blast. I found “Nightgrasp” a bit shapeless, but this band’s aim seems to be blow away all cobwebs with a volley of heavy metal songs. This they do once more with the title song, an imperious piece of fire and brimstone and for me a highlight of this lively album.

Vredensdal know how to use a break, sometimes slowing down or as on “Sonic Devotion to Darkness” raising the tempo to a level of controlled turbulence. Then after blasting the living daylights out of us for 4 solid minutes, the band notches down on “Cyclical Despondency” and drag us through the barbed wire and mud. What would a black metal album be without a track title in Norwegian – “Svøpt I Blod” (Covered in Blood) in this case. It’s actually not a necessity but of everything I heard on this album thus far, its intent had the most evil on what had been mostly user-friendly black metal. It’s right up there in the horrible, ghastly, hate-filled soundscapes. I’d say it’s a breath of fresh air but I give it the accolade for achieving the opposite. Having spat out the impressive filth and dirt that came out of that, “My Right to the Throne” continues in malevolent vein, but in the rapid-fire thrashier style that characterised the earlier part of this album. Again, Vredensdal make great use of a break, taking us into an expansive world of sinister atmospheres and striking guitar messages of the most ferocious kind. It’s not about matching the Norwegians, I know, but I heard tinges of Satyricon, Taake, Carpathian Forest and Gorgoroth here. The album closes with “Eyes Glowing Black”, like “Svøpt I Blod” a heavy machine dedicated with the help of the initial slow pace and the growled vocals to the dissemination of evil. Bursting out explosively, the drums set out a frantic pace in traditional black metal style while guitars rage before it all descends into chaos and total darkness as any good black metal album should.

I saw this album in two parts. The first part seemed to be black metal for beginners. I mean that in a good way. Dark, vibrant songs spread fire and excitement. Then comes the second part where the evil intent is manifest, and the band match the evil atmosphere of any of the Norwegian black metal stalwarts. The important thing is that, aided by clarity of sound and well managed structures, “Sonic Devotion to Darkness” is a collection of great songs. Vredensdal has created an album here that’s well worth listening to.

(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/vredensdal666

https://soulsellerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sonic-devotion-to-darkness