Up til now Bilskirnir have been a German Black Metal act peddling the sub-Absurd style of “Thuringian Pagan Madness” alongside other acts from that region such as Wolfmond, Wolfsschrei and probably a load of other bands with “wolf” in the name, despite sole participant Widar being Hessian rather than Thuringian himself. As far as Black Metal goes the previous releases have all been reliable and resolute in their worship of old Burzum and Graveland- far from originally, and seemingly proudly so, but perfectly functional and serviceable at it and avoiding the pitfalls of complete derivation so often seen from the hordes of Darkthrone/Nargaroth clones that also plague Germania. Because of this Wotan Redivivus is a complete surprise, a revelation even.
Opening with the excellent melody of “Siegsonne” this bears all the hallmarks of the previous material- mid-paced, headbang-able riffs and searing icy leads but everything seems like such an improvement that this skirts close to even being considered “refined”, however refined one may be in this style. The production is thinner and less heavy than on previous effort Wotansvolk, but with the effect that everything sounds clearer than ever before. It is still purposefully raw of course, but as far as one-man band recordings go this is as good as the come. The production is solid, the cover art utterly brilliant, the playing airtight and the songwriting almost unparalleled for this sub-sub-genre. Bilkskirnir have upped their game to the point they are now rivalling even their main influences of Absurd, Burzum and early Graveland.
Already this was on its way to being the best album Bilkskirnir have yet released, but then the surprises really start coming thick and fast. The eerily catchy “Never Dying Light” strikes first with the mid-period Rotting Christ gothic tone to its melody that also puts me in mind of like Dark The Suns or even Insomnium for sweetness, while the denser and sweeter “Vorvaeter” brings in DSBM influences as diverse as Strid, Austere and Thy Light and while the repetitive downstroke opening riff to “Soehne Muspells” even has a hint of classic Accept or Judas Priest to it. Their key trio of 90's raw melodic Black Metal influences are never overshadowed, and even more direct tributes are paid like on the interlude “Muspellheim” which is a clear rip-off of “A Crying Orc” by Burzum, but the more conventional Bilskirnir songs on here are every bit as good as their more unusual ones and prove that this album is a gift that just keeps on giving. 44 minutes and not one dud track- that is an enormous rarity for this so well-trodden musical path these days.
“Der Wolkenwanderer” is an acoustic interlude that brings Bilkskirnir closer than ever before to Pagan Black Metal, in particular the likes of Nokturnal Mortum and Dub Buk, a vibe repeated on the outro track “Der Raben Heimkehr”, but “As This World Ends” is the brightest spark on this album with its bittersweet Drudkh-esque melodies played with an almost Pop Punk simplicity and even a Shoegaze feel. It's a brave move, but it never feels forced and fits perfectly well into the typical style Bilkskirnir have employed up til now. If you have listened to this band in the past then you may be in for a real surprise with this record- this is Bilkskirnir, but not as you know it. This is almost incomparably better to everything they have done before. [8/10]
From WAR ON ALL FRONTS A.D. 2013 zine- www.facebook.com/waronallfronts