Six misanthropic numbers depicting “a spiritual journey through the destruction of the western civilization and the rise of Antichrist and his eternal kingdom” are what to expect here. I was well acquainted with this Swedish black metal, having first encountered them in the mid 00s. They were formed in 1993. So this is a band with endurance.
From the off it’s clear that Svartsyn’s aim is to drain the life out of anything that comes near this album. “The Pale Horse” is grainy and the musical equivalent of applying salt to a wound. Its progression is belligerent and dark. Composer and vocalist Ornias sounds demonic. This old-style black metal requiem is deliberately unpleasant. Appropriately the next piece is called “Inner Demonic Rise”. The pace and style recall Darkthrone a little, but Svartsyn develop their wall of sound and find dark corners to commit musical murder and strangulation. There’s no let up, no compromise. It’s downright oppressive. Having filled my eardrums with evil and darkness, the sinister tones of “Mystery Babylon” strike up. The atmosphere is stifling just as it should be. Thick walls will crumble. Ornias growls his unpleasantries to this backdrop of chaos and destruction. The sound is murky but this is what’s needed as clear crystal tones would not serve the purpose of portraying unremitting grey squalls of nastiness. This is not about birds or bees. Destructive anarchy lies at the heart of this defiance. Ornias rants. “The Desolate” drives us through a blizzard and grinds us down. The noise is inescapable. It is a long and violent war of attrition. If you manage to survive that one, “Spiritual Subjection” will hang over you like sword. The relentless assault continues, here and there hammering down on you. It’s a psychological attack. “Little Horn” continues in the same vein, hanging around and allowing no respite while piling on the power and heaping us miserable listeners with more dirty black metal.
The word substantial barely covers this monstrous and uncompromising assault. At no stage is there is anything but dirty black and grey filth and misanthropy. Be strong or die. A fine album.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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