After a run of covering a fair bit of “post-black’ metal it’s great to be jolted back to the true essence of the genre before it became adulterated by trends and Valdaudr, even if you have never heard of them, are certainly authentic. Their roots go right back to 2000 when they were formed by Blood Red Throne member Dod along with the group’s original vocalist Mr Hustler, releasing an album and playing live with Sanrabb from Gehenna on vocals. It took them ten years to follow that up and then they fell into the void as such. Dod felt that their legacy should continue and indeed had written new music and so has reconvened with vocalist Vald along with Rune Nesse on Drums (Taake live) hence a new era is born.
Being more of a black head than a dead head this has given me more of an opportunity to delve into guitarist / bassist Dod’s musical world and song-writing and this has been very much appreciated as Drapsdalen is an excellent album that although is very synonymous with the true Svart metal style of Scandinavia has enough diversity about it to really keep the listener on their toes during its duration.
Starting off with ‘Liket Skulle Vaert Brent’ which topically translates to ‘The Body Should Be Burned’ the drums mercilessly batter in without any need of instrumental intro in the slightest. Vocals are spiteful and vicious and there is a Trollish bounce and groove jauntily injected into proceedings. Nearest reference points here are the spiky blood-smeared gauntlet laid down by fellow countrymen such as Gorgoroth and Tsjunder. Drums roll splitting skulls and heads are instantly banging away as the funeral pyre is well and truly lit. Despite violence there is plenty of melody here and it’s a style that is going to be comfortably accessible to devotees of the 2nd wave of Norse black metal having a timeless quality about it from times before the past. ‘Trass og Vrede’ overflows with the ‘Defiance and Anger’ one would anticipate, the guitars whiplash and a feudal stomp dominate over the increasingly hellish gargling razor blades of the vocals. The trio are in perfect synchronicity and this reeks of skilful musicianship and vitriolic sulphur, an evil cackle perfectly placed amidst the rigorous fury. ‘Evig Langt Inn I Tiden’ simmers things down slightly with an eerie and stalking guitar line snaking around it like graveyard mist. This brings plenty of atmosphere with it too and although the violent nature is far from negated it broods with very evil intent and gets right under the skin.
With each song thus far having its own clear identity there are still more surprises to come. After a neat bouncy beat and punkish swagger ‘Den Evige Ild’ sees ‘The Eternal Fire’ warms the bones with some unexpected clean sweeping vocals at complete contrast to Vlad’s hideous retches. This gives the album, a dare I say it, sudden Vikingesque flavour and casts a ghostly aura on things as it takes in an essence of early Enslaved through to Helheim on its odyssey. After the unrestrained barking lycanthropy of ‘Du Vantro Og Vrange Slekt,’ death grunt and all and the somewhat sinister Mayhem of the title track these are employed fully once more on the epic finale ‘Kom, Bestig Vaare Fjell’ along with some folky motifs making it an exceptional well-rounded experience. As the title suggests it is indeed a mountainous experience and summits the peak with grandiosity with some evocative acoustic guitar parts again a surprise after what has come before it.
With a compact 38-minute running time ‘Drapsdalen’ has a really addictive personality about it but what is remarkable is finding an album in 2021 that contains exactly what one would have hoped to find in a “classic” back in the days when Norwegian black metal burst into death like a festering sore on the musical cosmos. Hopefully Dod will find himself reinvigorated by this and Valdaudr will be encouraged to climb to even headier heights in the not too distant future.
(8.5/10 Pete Woods)
Leave a Reply