One thing I’m beginning to understand about Sweden’s Sorgeldom is that they are hard to predict. Having started life as an acoustic project, I discovered them on their second album, ‘Inner Receivings’ which was very much a shoegaze black metal album with a heavy Gothic presence. Now some 18 months later they return with two brand new albums released separately but at the same time and neither were quite what I was expecting. The two releases each represent a different side to the band and thus if you like one of them you aren’t necessarily going to enjoy the other. ‘Vithatten’ comes in more of a raw, traditional black metal package, which is evident even down to the artwork which is all black and white sketching of a creepy looking forest which harbours a creepy looking graveyard, and inside the booklet is all laid out in quite a minimalist fashion with black twigs and branches around the lyrics. From the opening intro there is a vaguely unsettling hiss in the background, and production is minimal and lo-fi and really works with the music to give it that raw, old-school vibe.
Title-track ‘Vithatten’ has some gnarly blackened riffs that are steeped in distortion, while the bass remains high in the mix. At times everything simply rattles away full throttle, a wrathful racket unleashed upon the eardrums while there are shades of depression and bleakness beneath the surface. Vocals are as ferocious as the music and have a real biting edge to them, until the tone suddenly shifts and a clean but maniacal chant takes over lending a rather sinister tone to things. I also like the majestic vocal tones on ‘Av Sten’ which have a bit of a Vintersorg vibe about them. There is a particularly solitary feel to ‘De Gangnas Skalder’, with strained guitar melodies creeping in and out and occasionally peppered with that Gothic jangliness. There’s a real sense of dejection to this track and at times it’s rather hypnotic, and it leads nicely through to the next track ‘Inom Bergets Salar’, which has a dark, moody bassline lurking behind rather ambient passages that hint at underlying mystery. ‘Vilsna Tankars Spokerier’ really draws me in with a crepuscular sense of wonder. At times Sorgeldom are prone to over-indulge in progressive noodling that can make this album difficult to connect with, and I did find it was an album that grew on me rather than engaging me on first listen. Still, the positives outweigh the negatives. I dig its mix of ravaging fury and minimalist misery blanketed in an avant-garde approach.
‘From Outer Intelligences’ is somewhat closer to the sound heard on ‘Inner Receivings’. The production is cleaner and the harshness of ‘Vithatten’ is hardly present. At times there is rather a cosmic vibe to this, with ‘Through dust Into Lostness’ feeling a bit like a journey across the galaxy, the crepuscular keyboards twinkling like passing stars. There’s an absolute sense of serenity to ‘Mannen Vid Stugan’, its melody is beautifully melancholic and soothing, oozing warmth and the clean vocals are incredibly passionate. There are some nice guitar solos on this album too, especially here and on ‘A Voice In Orbit’, not something I would usually associate with this style of music and there is almost a classic metal ballad feel to the solos. ‘Hanford Av Tvangshandlinges Synagoga’ contrasts the last track with more focus on ferocity and blasting blackness, although it is balanced out with more hypnotic and reflective moments. There’s a deep hypnotic bass to this, as guitars sweep majestically above, and there’s lots of depth with several rich layers of sound. Still, when it goes for it there are no holds barred and it all sounds to be racing ahead to make up for lost time. ‘From Outer Intelligences’ has some solid drumming, and feels kind of folky with its flutes while the final track definitely is a cause for confusion with the ringing phone having us dashing to pick up the handset on more than one occasion.
I think I probably wanted to like this album more than I actually did; it lacks the fluidity of ‘Inner Receivings’. Both albums are very good, but there is just something I’m not quite connecting with as much as I did the last album. Sorgeldom really seem to be all about experimentation, and perhaps their own identity as a band is still a little under-developed. They are definitely a band I will continue to be intrigued by and hopefully they will blow me away on the next album, or the one after that, as they have a hell of a lot of potential either way.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sorgeldom/111354888920827
Luci Herbert
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