VREID

Vreid arrive with their sixth full-length outing, the paradoxically titled 'Welcome Farewell', a successor to the critically acclaimed 'V'. Self-proclaimed "black 'n' rollers", this latest effort is no exception with a continuation of their subgeneric fusion. At core, I guess black metal is an aptly overarching description of the Norwegians' aesthetic, although only in atmosphere and feeling rather than a mindless regurgitation of the genre's classic traits. As expected, 'Welcome Farewell' is loaded with compositions that often eschew, but not entirely abandon, black metal's tired old idioms of blast-beat dominated passages overlaid with tremolo-picked guitars. There are sections that adhere to this but Vreid's palette is a far more diverse one. However, they still succeed in maintaining the genre's darkly sonic essence. Frontman Sture's Shagrath-esque vocal delivery is perhaps the sole binding black metal factor that runs throughout the album but, within the actual music, divergences are abound such as the classic metal flavours of riffage in 'The Reap', the thrash elements inherent in 'The Devil's Hand' amongst others, and the classic rock grooves that characterise parts of 'Black Waves' and 'At the Brook'. These are but a few examples as Vreid switch between and combine said styles throughout in what is, overall, a pretty engaging listen. Certainly not groundbreaking in any significant way but, nonetheless, another captivatingly dark journey into Vreid's black 'n' roll textures.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Indie Recordings

Album

WELCOME FAREWELL

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

42:36

RELEASE DATE:

22nd Feb 2013

TRACK LISTING

1) The Ramble
2) Way of the Serpent
3) The Devil's Hand
4) Welcome Farewell
5) The Reap
6) Sights of Old
7) Black Waves
8) At the Brook

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Norway

"...another captivatingly dark journey into Vreid's black 'n' roll textures."