Pagan black metal is one of the more mysterious and ambiguous black metal sub-genres and has berthed many a fine work of metal that delves into the darkest and most obscure of pre-Abrahamic beliefs and ideals over the last 30-plus years.

Australia has given said genre a fine number of bands and artists of this ilk and from my personal experiences, Iron Bonehead Productions is the place to go for finding some of the best pagan related black metal at present. So when I saw Runespell, hailing from down under releasing their fifth studio album through a decent outlet, I was excited to hear it.

However, getting your hopes up is always a double edged sword, not just for those of us who scribble about music for a living. Shores of Nastrond is by no means a failure, it’s actually a decent exhibition of a hard working band who put a lot of effort into such a piece. But even though there were lashings of other big pagan names like Kawir or Havukruunu here and there, the droning atmosphere that creates a journey into an audible netherworld can be a little too much for those of us with a lighter attention span.

I can see from the strong instrumentation that these guys spent a long time working on this album and it would be bad to tarnish it with a bad review, but I have to say this piece did not jump out at me. What I always look for in a decent metal album are tunes that are memorable both by sound, lyrics and experimentation. This was another case of a band having found themselves long ago and haven’t added in any new elements to their work that make it stand above the rest.

At most, this is another decent pagan black metal outing that would please anyone who loves a mix of the atmospheres, melodies and droning/creeping barrage style blast beats that made this album worthwhile. But if you are one who is always looking out for a band taking something of a new direction or being brave to add more spice to the flavor, then you might not be 100% satisfied.

Runespell have helped bring pagan black metal to Australia and wisht them all the best with their next piece which I expect to be a worthy listen in its own right.

(6/10 Demitri Levantis)

https://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com/album/runespell-shores-of-nastrond