“The sounds of freezing winds, glacial isolation and permanent darkness” is just some of what we’re promised on “Death Nord Kult”, the third album from Old Wainds from Murmansk in northern Russia. It sure isn’t an anthology of happiness. After reading the hyberbole, I was a bit surprised that the first track “Storm Whip” was fresh, fast and militaristic. The album opens up with the ominous hum of raiding bombers overhead. The sense of battle and struggle never leave this album. The vocals are grim and nasty. This isn’t Club Tropicana. The war is on.
If “Storm Whip” is upbeat with its catchy beat – if there was a Black Metal folk dance, this would be the accompanying soundtrack – “Once Moonlight …” and “Cruel Black Dead are more devoted to the art of ferocious nastiness and despair. The relentless battery and dark overtones reminded me very strongly of Darkthrone. The fast pace is always there or lurking but old Wainds know how to slow it down for maximum atmospheric effect. At the same time, mixed in there was the power of Endstille, especially in the way tracks like “Bloodstained” work up and down the chords. The old style Black Metal blends in neatly with the many more measured passages which tell their own dark mini-tale.
There’s no new statement in all this. If you like a relentless dose of grimness in an old style, this is for you. If not, prepare to endure. The track “Death Nord Kult” breaks the mould and mid-way through, impressively descends into an eerily industrial section, introducing nightmares into the equation. “Cold Northern Order” is back to more traditional territory, laying the barren lands waste with a final outpouring of old school Black Metal.
Whether the lavish descriptions apply or not, “Death Nord Kult” has power and purpose. It is, as the publicity claims, a “furious storm of blackness”. It’s not subtle and after the first track, it’s not saying anything new. If however, you’re just looking for a well-earned break in the old style Black Metal wastelands, you’ll certainly find it here.
www.myspace.com/oldwainds
www.debemur-morti.com
