Sometimes the need to spontaneously conduct pure, hateful energy occurs out of sight of a suitable forest locale. I, for example have in the past had to make do with Cupping the Orbs of Satan in front of a medium-sized shrubbery. I only mention this because the murky cover-art to Norwegian BM band Blodhemn’s debut EP appears to show someone drowning in a muddy cornfield, or else being dragged into oblivion by some rabid and unseen bush-dwelling horror. It’s actually a pretty menacing and appealingly minimalist image, although it will always be overshadowed in my mind by the combination of farmer-bothering, daylight necrowizardry and exploding-ketchup-bottle tomfoolery present on the frankly magnificent cover to Havohej’s ‘Dethrone The Son of God’.
Jesting aside, ‘Brenn Aller Bruer’ is actually a pretty solid and convincing mix of Norwegian buzzsaw- BM and dirty, punk-infused black-and-roll debauchery. No-nonsense opener ‘Brenne Alle Bruer’ is at once droning and manic, throwing together Transylvanian Hunger riffs with enjoyably unhinged melodies in the Bethlehem vein, and with just a hint of Finnish Filth thrown in for good measure. ‘Ytterst I Livet’ meanwhile leaps from cold and monotone riffing , thundering gallops and half-time plunges into passages of sleazy, crunchy punk-chugging that sit somewhere between Dodsferd and Darkthrone’s Sardonic Wrath, whilst ‘Ase’ is a more brooding and mischievous number. Here the spectre of Spiritual Warfare-era Bewitched looms heavily, framing fleeting passages of tight blasting and dismal lethargic trudging around some sharp, catchy-as-hell mid-tempo grooves.
‘Kaoskult’ reminds of Dodsferd more than ever, blazing along with a mix of chunky and taut black/thrash lunges and angular-and-frenetic melodic riffing until all energy is drained, whereupon a languid and depressive riff drags the song slowly into fade-out oblivion. Closer ‘Villmann’ works around a main riff most easily visualised as Marduk being pushed down a big spiral staircase, bolted onto a series of punky Final Fuck You riffs that quickly become so fat and truncated as to momentarily threaten a sharp detour down Nu-Metal Cul-De-Sac. Thankfully the song has a strong dynamic dragging it forward, keeping the momentum rolling and striking a suitable balance between tremolo-heavy rawness and crunchy, clinical chugging.
Topped off with some convincingly raw and abrasive vocals, ‘Brenn Aller Bruer’ offers both cold and scathing atmospherics and instantly gripping downtuned riffs in abundance, making up for its distinct lack of originality with its energy and precision and a quick-in-and-out approach that keeps things whizzing along nicely. Nothing outstanding then, but an entirely solid and engaging debut nonetheless.
http://www.myspace.com/blodhemnweb
