No-one quite does it like the Norwegians do. The Bergen based black metal band Svadilfare’s fourth album starts with a withering, cold beat, and the epic chorus of Viking warriors. From “Tenn Flammen Taa Ny” we go to war. The withering Khold style has become contempt. “Breidablik” is fire and hatred. Harsh, nasty and unsettling, it’s a piece of bile. The production is raw and without frills, allowing us to immerse ourselves in the rotting atmosphere. “Brutalt Fortalt” is military and violent, exploding into screams and anarchic chaos. It wasn’t that quiet in the first place. A short moment of reflection is merely a prelude to another round of screams and bombastic violence. The vocalist sounds like he’s being tortured. The chorus returns on the more measured but equally sinister “Hordalands Skimmer”. The distant voice could be coming from the mountains as it invades this cold and frosty scene.

Blood-curdling roars penetrate the violent extremity of “Vemodig Farvel”, but instead of continuing in the same vein, the mood rises majestically. Svadilfare are good at controlling their environment. The majesty is tantamount to melancholic harshness as the vocalist emits fire and despair. The title track follows on from this. Everything speaks of brutal cold and suffering, but with that superior menace and isolation that nature imposes. The music evokes bleak and uncaring landscapes, not to mention inescapable forces and power. An acoustic folk section briefly make a couple of appearances, suggesting a rare human presence in this harsh and enormous scene. There is respite then and indeed surprise as “Sjoelvmord” starts in expansive symphonic fashion, generating a different atmosphere. The scene is now vast and more tolerant. The vocalist comes in as the sound intensifies, and screams, suggesting we’re not out of the woods yet. Once more we have an epic, if this time less extreme, scene.

I read that “Fortapte Roetter” is “all about love and war to preserve the Scandinavian heritage with dark and depressive artforms in a minimalistic but epic sense”. Without doubt it is an impressive collection of cold atmospheric black metal.

(8/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/Svadilfare-339102339441265

https://naturmachtproductions.bandcamp.com/album/fortapte-roetter