Norwegian black metal band Likheim’s debut EP „Alt Skal Svinne Hen…“ is the first release coming from the newly formed underground label Underground Kvlt Records, under the banner of the well-known Odium Records.
There is no point in looking for the band in the archives, it will be publshed there very soon, but although a completely new name in the dark black metal circles, Likheim provides a sound that is quite familiar to us – pure high-quality Norwegian black metal.
Founded by vocalist Gretn, who is actually the band’s
driving force, Likheim exists to unleash a huge dose of raw black
metal and storms of fierce, atmospheric Norwegian darkness.
For the performance of the songs that formed „Alt Skal Svinne Hen…“
and for achieving the musical personification of painful loneliness
and frozen poison, born in Gretn’s mind in the last nearly two
decades, the musician called for the assistance of Polish guitarist
Umarlak (Eradication ) and bassist Gamle Erik (Carpathian Forest,
Svarttjern).
From the glorious title track to the final storm of
the song „Stormen“, „Alt Skal Svinne Hen“ is a captivating,
mesmerizing call to the black metal spirit.
Full of cruel, unforgiving reefs, while painting pictures of
breathtaking grandeur and evoking powerful emotions, true Norwegian
black metal comes to life, screaming with full force in the heart
of the northern blizzard.
„Alt Skal Svinne Hen…“ contains four tracks, and in each of them you can feel the harsh atmosphere of the Norwegian ice and at the same time a certain breath of melancholy, accompanied by the candid heavy vocals of Gretn.
The record contains both traditional Norwegian techniques for
making black metal and the fury of other well-known scenes
such as Polish and Icelandic, mixing them into something truly
captivating and authentic as sound.
In general, if you are a fan of the 90’s wave of black metal, you
can not help but be pleased to hear what is it about.
I listened to the recording several times without realizing it,
and I didn’t got bored even for a second, on the contrary – I
kept coming back again and again to hear a certain segment, which
is a very good sign for an album. , be it EP.
„Alt Skal Svinne Hen…“, apart from the visible playfulness of
the performers who forged it, is also distinguished by finely
presented dynamics, with instrumental variety.
In the continuation of the album you can hear different vocals,
synths, different guitar performances and wild drums.
Each of the songs is different in dynamics and contains different
passages that hook you and make you listen a little more
carefully.
The first track from the album, titled „Alt Skal Svinne
Hen“, has a faster, more traditional atmosphere, following
the punk influences of the Norwegian scene, as we can
hear in many of Darkthrone’s albums, for example.
Here we can hear shouts and harsh vocals, playful guitars, fast
drums and tremolo – the typical classics in the genre, presented in
an intelligent and beautiful way, as at times there is some
reference to the Icelandic scene.
Some of the shouts in the song referred me directly to Katla’s
work and other similar musicians.
In contrast, the second song „Smerte“ is slower, more vicious, deeper, the black metal feeling is even more sinister, more tangible and rebellious, as after the song we are enveloped by the gentle melody of the intro of „Takens Kall“, which suddenly turns into a whirlwind of furious vocals, cutting guitars and epic melodies. In the third song, in addition to the playful flirtation with the dynamics, there are more atmospheric moments, as the bass is particularly distinct and gives a very pleasant accent to the melody.
And finally, as if I was not immersed enough in the experience,
„Stormen“ flooded the space with ice-cold cutting guitars and
brutal vocals.
The song seems to combine all the accents in the recording
and also contains a bridge of a quiet atmosphere, reminiscent of
the eye of a storm in which everything is quiet, although outside
everything succumbs and collapses under the influence of its
power.
We can hear unique guitar solos, a great symbiosis between drums,
guitars and vocals, many playful elements, including synth melodies
and many more.
“Alt Skal Svinne Hen…” is a raw record, painting the
Norwegian darkness and cold with a fine and dynamic
composition, woven with beautiful and diverse black metal
instrumentals and candid vocals.
In four tracks we can enjoy a traditional Norwegian
black metal sound with excellent production and clearly, a
lot of invested creativity.
In case you are a fan of the 90’s black metal scene,
this EP is a must-listen.
With such a debut as “Alt Skal Svinne Hen…” Likheim set an
unforgivably high bar for their next performances and I look
forward to hearing more.
The title will be released on May 30th through Underground Kvlt
Records (Odium Records).
Order link: https://odiumrex.com/webshop
Score: 9/10
Favorite song : „Stormen“
Hear the title track , „Alt Skal Svinne Hen“:
Mother of THE VOID.
Underground music is the ultimate weapon against mediocrity.