I recently filled in my gaps in the Tsjuder discography and formed a nice demonic marathon at home, and the new album arrived in the mail. If that’s not synchronicity, what else is?

Tsjuder are one of the massive and particularly recognizable bands in the Norwegian black metal scene and hardly need any introduction – those reading my webzine  know very well what the duo is all about and how much fire they can ignite in us as fans, so I see no point in pretending to be an encyclopedia and prefer to cut to the chase.

„Helvegr“ is the sixth full-length album created by black metal machines Nag and Draugluin, and in addition to the two of them, the title talso features musicians Jon „The Charn“ Rice (guest drums), Pål Emanuelsen (guest guitars on the fourth track) and Seidemann from 1349 (guest vocals on the sixth track). The album  will be released on June 23rd via Season of Mist, and can now be found on a number of physical media (see link at the end of the review).

The album follows Tsjuder’s tendency to hover lyrically around darkness , the demonic powers and death, and this time the atmosphere goes even deeper into the cores of the infernal lows…and in their echoes once  again  the motto „NO FUCKING COMPROMISES“  distinctively rings out.

The beautiful and perhaps slightly unconventional cover art is the work of Swedish artist Jonas Svensson and quite accurately depicts the main line of the album and the symbolic „road to the underworld“ that is mentioned in the title. Around this dark pathway and the deities and demons wandering its shadowy recesses is condensed the story itself, which is about to be told to the listener within nine tracks of just over forty-one minutes duration, and it is far more interesting than it probably seems at first glance.

The album opens with the blasphemous „Iron Beast“, filled with chaotic and wild guitars in the band’s traditional style, as the tempo momentarily slows down towards the end of the song, giving way to a brief moment of calm… before the storm. Such accents are very interesting in black metal and add a nice tinge to the already fiery beastly vocals and instrumental.
Pure old-school black metal – the kind that takes no prisoners and attacks directly without unnecessary bullshit.

„Demons arise from fire and ice
With weapons of mass destruction
Diesel monsters carving the path
Shaped and crafted from Black Metal“

The next piece „PRESTEHAMMEREN“ is for me the equivalent of spitting in a priest’s face at the entrance of a church…to put it mildly. Translated as „the priest hammer“, the title only hints at what the song is really about.
The hatred of religion and the hypocrisy of its worshippers is purely a  homage to the true nature of black metal and a reference to the reason for its emergence as we know it today. And as the song progresses and you revel in the primordiality of what you’re hearing, at some point you can’t help but start burning with every word and your heart starts beating entwined with the lightning drums and slashing guitar compositions.

„Hvor er din gud nå
som du skriker i smerte
Du føler vår vrede
Dødangst melder seg
Rett ned i Helvete“

Alternating lyrics in English and Norwegian, the musicians add even more interest to the blasphemous blend called „Helvegr“. Amidst lines praising Surtur, the leader of the fiery giants in Norse mythology , and other figures from the dark world , there are also gushes of pure hatred and unseen power. In other words – Tsjuder in crystal clear form, ready to back you into the corner with another huge dose of massive aggression, or as in my case, inspire all your demons to wake up and erupt their might simultaneously.
In songs like ‘Gods of Black Blood’ , especially, in which we get to hear Seidemann’s guest vocals, this applies with full force.

„We are emissaries from Hell
Bringers of misery to the feeble
We rape and feast on the angels
Perverted, malicious, bloodthirsty
We are the grim reapers
Annihilators of human existence
Drown in Fire“

Ferocious and unrelenting, „Helvegr“ provokes and pummels the mind in typical Tsjuder true black metal style – the one that has kept their name for 30 years and has the  listeners shivering in anticipation for their new vicious attack. Fast-paced guitars,  mind-blowing drums from the master drummer Jon „The Charn“ Rice and vocals that subdue everything around them with their vicious energy and possessive aggression. A powerful piece of black metal – entirely traditional and unimaginably real. Zero compromise. Pure punishment and demonic hatred. Take it or leave it … and burn.

Some of the album tracks are already available:

You can find physical copies of the album here: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/Tsjuder-HEL