Ondfodt are back, four years after unleashing their uncompromising ‘Hexkonst’ on the world, and they are well and truly cementing their position within the ranks of the Finnish black metal elite.

‘Dodsrikets kallelse’ opens up with an intro that demonstrates and exhibits demonic hanging guitar chords a plenty, and then they launch into ‘Den Sanna’ which opens up with brutal and vitriolic lyrics spat out with ferocity and venom. The fretwork is accomplished and provides a speedy backbone to the proceedings. The tune offers varying paces to the make-up and gives the listener segments of respite, with interludes of instrumental harmony before launching back into a tirade of venom and evil.

‘Fri Fran Slaveri’ is brutal in its approach and the vocals are the sutures that hold the dirty wounds together. The drums are mesmerising and cut into the track at times as solo stand alone pieces. The production and mix on the whole is competent, aside from when the drums tackle the spotlight on their own merits, the cymbal work is tinny and falters with the lack of body the rest of the work portrays.

‘Tidin E komi’, ‘No Ere Jo Satan’ keeps the ship afloat with demonical and evil fragments of rawness and intricacy. The 2 tunes stand side by side and elude the same competent musical skills in the construction of the tracks.

‘Nerdreji I Morkri’ is a stand out track and each element of it seems to want to showcase itself as being the ‘alpha male’ dominant force on the release. The track opens with intricacy and technicality that hasn’t been expressed in the previous tracks and has a recipe which will truly make the listener stand up and take notice.

‘Den Sista Farden’ is a brief instrumental interlude and slows the events right up. The track is almost doomy in its approach yet still injects the beast with raw, clinical, unholy black metal. The vocals are missing but you almost dont realise this until the track closes out as you are transfixed and mesmerised by the track itself.

‘Fodomd I Evihejt’ brings back the demonical and venomous vocals and the track livens the mood somewhat, although still keeping it a little slower than the opening 5 tracks were exposing you to, this is clever as they want to acclimatise you to the brutal viciousness that they hold in their arsenal. The drums are the stable element and the guitars work furiously around the spine to create melody and harmony a plenty.

‘Midnatt’ is a beast with in the beauty of the album and seems to take the savagery to a whole new stratosphere. The fretwork is technical and layered with the drums being solid and proficient. The vocals are spiteful and rancorous with the whole track being caustic and acerbic throughout.

The album signs off with ‘Kun Mina Kuolen’, a cover from fellow Finnish countrymen ‘Hamys’. The effort is outstanding and I’m sure it’s something the originators will be proud of, its technical, raw, inflamed and precise. The band has chosen a beauty to complete the album with and it is methodical in its deliverance.

This creature will show the intent that Ondfodt are made up of and it won’t be long before it is talked about in the same breath as black metal overlords Watain, Funeral Mist, Marduk and even Demi gods that are Dissection.

(9/10 Phil Pountney)

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