It was only last year that Murg crawled out of the forests with its refreshing debut Varg & Björn, full of oppressive black metal with a flint sharp edge. In a world where it’s increasingly hard for black metal bands of all hues to cut through, and arguably even more so for bands with such a strong heathen undercurrent, the album did just that. From the cover – the wolf and the bear totem – to the dark, imagined past that the band invokes with sinister calculation, it dragged you into its fierce world from the opening bars and in each and every track throughout. It was a call sign like the blast of a horn across the pristine wilderness that made the whole idea of combining the beating spiritual heart of a more tribal age with early 1990s black metal feel like something newly wrought.
True to that opening volley, Murg haven’t tried to tamper too much with the essential ingredients. Gudatall, at the most basic analysis, could be considered Varg & Björn part two. Ominous tribal bass guitar intros – check; flesh-flaying guitar’s tuned to the sound of hell – check; tantalising melodies glistening through from beyond the edges of history – check. Like the bewitching invocations of Kampfar or early Wyrd combined with classic Norwegian Darkthrone-style black metal and perhaps a streak of martial Marduk. It’s very raw – assisted in no small measure by some coarse, frosted vocals. Atmospheric without falling back on trite ‘traditional’ musical tattoos (no pipes, flutes or anything else to make your stomach lurch). Just the single-minded use of driving riffs and amplified guitars.
What these Swedes have done this time round, however, is weave their magic spell in a more rabid fashion. There are some obvious call backs to the previous album. The steady march of Djupt Ner, Fär Frosten Inte Biter for example. But the sulphur smoke belches forth a little thicker and any familiarity of sound you might have felt on the previous outing is in parts here replaced by something even more arcane. Gudatall begins to stretch the boundaries of Murg’s formula with those hypnotic and invigoratingly sombre musical canvasses combining with sheer black metal intensity. Occasionally the sweeping tremolos part to let some cleaner riffs or the bands lingering atmospherics to push their way to the foreground – such as on the adventurous Den Siste i Brödraskapet or the rousing finale Törstens Kval.
But that’s soon replaced with the wall of black metal sound so excellently produced and which sweeps you back into the land of walking gods, perpetual winter and endless battle. Murg has brought a darkness back into heathen metal that often feels missing. No nonsense – just fearsome black metal and an excellent follow-up in such short order. All too easy for me to recommend.
(8.5/10 Reverend Darkstanley)
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