Artist: Svinfylking
Album: Demo 1
Label: HEXENKULT
Release Date: 04/11/2021
Country: United States
USBM act Svinfylking have just unleashed their first musical offering upon an unsuspecting world. Demo 1, released on HEXENKULT on November 4th is a fantastic offering of raw black metal that should please even the most selective purists.
The Bandcamp description of the group perfectly sums up exactly what this album is all about, “SVINFYLKING play Black Metal without compromises. No modern production, no trends, only pure, ancient worship in the vein of Gorgoroth.” To put it more comparatively think later career Gorgoroth such as Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt, Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam and Twilight of the Idols – In Conspiracy with Satan. Personally, these are some of my all-time favourite black metal releases and as such I immediately fell in love with this album.
While I love the instrumentals, the vocals are my favourite element on the album. They sit halfway between being shrieked and snarled, most importantly though they are truly raw and convey plenty of emotion. I would probably say that they sit halfway between Phaedrus of Krieg and Gaahl of Gorgoroth.
Instrumentally you’ll find some fantastic riffs littered throughout the album. This may be a raw black metal album but that doesn’t mean that the music is devoid of melody. Strip from your mind any preconceived notions of incessant tremolo picking and unrelenting blast beats. That isn’t what this album is about. That isn’t to say that those elements aren’t present, but the band doesn’t rely on them like a crutch as many others in the genre tend to. I should also clarify that while the album may not feature modern production every element on the album is clearly audible/distinguishable while still retaining a raw unaltered essence.
As far as individual stand out tracks go, I would have to say that track 2 Funeral Procession features my favourite riffs on the album, honestly the song has been stuck in my head for days. This is followed closely by track 4 Awaiting Samhain which has some truly memorable guitar work. The opening track on the album Beyond the western Waves is also a definite standout and features some fantastic clean spoken word vocals.
So, if you’re a black metal fan in any capacity this release is well worth a listen, or two, or possibly three. Take 20 minutes out of your day and dive headfirst into some quality USBM.
Listen to and order the album below:
