ARCKANUM

Without resorting to shock tactics, I truly believe that black metal in its current guise is on the verge of dying out. I sense that Arckanum feel this too, as they stretch the boundaries of the genre a little on this release. But, it's not enough. While bands such as Janvs, Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, Alcest, Kvelertak et al are taking the rotting corpse of this once beloved musical grimness into exciting unchartered waters, it's dangerous to remain stagnant; at least commercially it is. Sure, kudos to any group sticking to their guns in the hope that, as is often the case, tastes come full circle and we will long for that raw black metal trooness to re-enter our lives. However, right now, I can't get excited about a band taking this route. We've been shown grand things can be achieved by combining the roots of black metal with other styles, even if the experiments aren't always convincing, and we have a lot of wonder ahead of us. Arckanum are dipping their toes into the post-metal world and, at times, it works (such as on 'In Følva Feir'). Too many times though the band settles into blast beating aggression and, while it will satisfy the troops, it makes me feel sad that they didn't attempt to capitalise on the progressive detours they have started to take. Maybe the band need time to adjust, and we will see the fruits of this endeavour on their next release. As it is, this is a well-played round of traditional black/death metal that is uninspiring much more than it is worthwhile. Truly a great shame.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Regain Records

Album

SVIGA LÆ

Review by Steve Cowan

RUNNING TIME:

38:31

RELEASE DATE:

18th Oct 2010

TRACK LISTING

1) Læ elr
2) Gylðir algørir
3) In følva felr
4) Goðin eru blekkt
5) Gramr girnisk
6) Andskoti ferr austan
7) Múspellzheimr kemr
8) Røk

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Sweden

"...this is a well-played round of traditional black/death metal that is uninspiring much more than it is worthwhile."