Arctogaia

I think this review could probably be summed up by saying; if you’re a fan of Hate Forest and wish that Blood of Kingu had carried on with a sound evocative of albums like Purity and The Most Ancient Ones, then this is the album for you.

I suppose you have to wonder, is a band who’s sound is so evocative of another band’s sound really relevant if the original band’s music is still readily available? I personally think it should be judged on the quality of the music at hand, and in this case I’m going to say yes. I really like the style of black metal on display here, and Hate Forest aren’t around anymore, so I’m glad Ulvegr have picked up the torch, as they do it in a very competent way which at times I’d go as far as to say betters that which went before.

Ok, so it might be selling them a bit short implying that they are merely a Hate Forest tribute act, as they do have more than the one string to their bow.

Ulvegr seemingly appeared out of the ashes of Runes of Dianceht in 2009. They have a cross over in membership with another band formed in the wake of said band, in the shape of current scene favourites Ygg. The majority of the music was performed by Khors mainstay Helg, with drums provided by Odlav, both of them also members of Ygg and before that Runes of Dianceht. Former Nokturnal Mortum guitarist Astargh also appears as a guest musician, and lyrics are provided by Blazebirth Hall main man Kaldrad. (Branikald, Nitberg, Forest, Темнозорь et al.) So you know the musical pedigree is quite high from the off.

Relentless, icy cold and subtly melodic black metal is what you should expect from this album. From the off an ominous swelling of sound gives way to the thunderous and relentless assault of the drums drives this album along, with a selection of blast beats, slower and simpler accompaniments and double bass heavy patterns being the typical fare. Simple, yet effective you might say was a suitable descriptor. The riffs are often ferocious, oftentimes bordering on what some might consider blackened death metal, yet at times they are more melodic and make an interesting use of harmony. Guitar solos when they do happen are subtle and have a quite improvised feel, with a very nice tone. The vocals are deep, powerful and commanding, with the exception of the fourth track which has guest vocals from Zorn of Russian pagan black metal band Djur, who provides a rawer more shriek like approach, which whilst noticeably different from the rest of the album doesn’t suit the music any less.

Despite the majority being over 6 minutes, no song outstays it’s welcome, and I never felt that the songs dragged or got tedious, if anything I felt they where over sooner than their running time would suggest. The album is a very comfortable 38 minutes too which I personally feel is a very nice length for an album.

As ever, I think this score as ever need’s to be taken with a pinch of salt; if your into Hate Forest or any of the bands mentioned throughout I’d say that this was mandatory listening. For anyone indifferent to the bands or not familiar with them, yet still considers them selves a fan of black metal, I’d still say that it was very much worth hearing.