Tsjuder arose from the Norwegian black metal scene in the mid 90s releasing a few demos and EP’s before finally proffering a triple pronged album assault and splitting up. The group got a certain amount of notice and their final album ‘Desert Northern Hell’ got more than respectable reviews in 2004 just before the group combusted. They did that Immortal trick and on announcing their comeback a few years after their demise they were quickly booked to play Wacken Open Air, although unlike Immortal they were far from a headlining act. I am one of those people who kind of thinks that when a band declare themselves dead they should stick to their convictions; there are far too many jumping on the reformation bandwagon and getting attention they probably would never have done the first time around. At least Tsjuder (whose name if you were wondering is that of a mythical Russian tribe taken from Norwegian film Pathfinder) have not committed the ultimate sin and have backed up their return with an album of new material, quickly following their reformation. The good news is it’s pretty damn formidable too.
The trio of Nag, Draugluin and Anti Christian (harrumph) are not beating around the bush in the slightest and deliver 8 blazingly fast songs in just under the 40 minute mark here. There is little in the way of subtlety from the opening drum salvo of ‘The Daemon Throne’ but the good news is that without any use of trimmings like keyboards, the group keep things very much true whilst retaining a fine sense of majesty and melody. Guitars wind and grind away, sharp, tight and thorny, drums batter the necessary seven shades out of things whilst keeping and driving the pace and the rasping vocals from Nag really get beneath the skin and are delivered with forked malice and grim determination.
It is pretty impossible not to be caught up in the full on maelstrom of numbers such as the epic 10 minute closing declaration ‘Vart Helvete’, the jewel in the crown of this album but if you are looking for a more immediate fix there is plenty of passion and classic sounding Norske Svart Metal on display here and lovers of proper black metal will find plenty to enjoy. I can’t say that Tsjuder’s resurrection is likely to have created a huge stir but there is definitely a ripple here and the group should certainly be welcomed back; hopefully to stick around longer this time and continue delivering the goods.
http://www.myspace.com/666tsjuder666
Pete Woods
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