Arckanum - Helvítismyrkr (2011)

Perhaps the biggest weakness of Shamaatae's 7th full-length album under the Arckanum banner is that it stands in the shadow of a trio of superior works, one of which (ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ) stands as one of the best Swedish black metal efforts I've heard in my life, not to mention one of the best genre offerings of the 21st century. Next to that, even last year's Sviga Læ was a disappointment, though a strong one with some residual brilliance from its predecessor. Helvítismyrkr is unquestionably a solid record in the same vein as the last batch, but it suffers from a few half-formed riffing sequences and a generally predictable air that lacks some of the driving intensity of his 2009 masterpiece, and ultimately winds up more on the level of a Kampen or Kostogher in total quality (neither of which are bad).

The production and richness of the guitars here is a direct remnant of the last two full-lengths, and the central feature in its broad swath of melodic, mythologically inspired lamentations. It's got a mildly more airy tone to it than ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ, drawing a little on the debut Fran Marder in terms of aural aesthetics. Where the vocals felt forced, brutal, and hanging just below the storming guitars on the last two albums, here they seem to grant themselves more space, a dark bark over a desolate river course of simplistic Swedish riffs that sound like a black metal sibling to countrymen Amon Amarth. What Helvítismyrkr does not fall short on is its variation: from the gliding, plodding melodic heavy metal foundation of "In Svarta" to the rumbling black/thrash undercurrent of "Or Djupum" with its ample Motörhead bass and minimal, driving notation. "Prudgelmnis Hlaut" has a lot of pumping, romping chords in it, though the double bass rhythms feel pretty samey with the other half of the album ("Helvitt", "Nifldreki", etc.)

The problem is really just that most of the riffing sequences feel only partially formed. Take, for example, my favorite song on the album, "Svartr ok pursligr" which sounds as if it's opening guitars would have summoned up the perfect riff with just a dash more complexity. Transitions ebb and crash into one another here, whether dead stops or natural ligaments, but while the new guitars entering each composition always seem enticing at first, they seem to also peter out into predictable patterns that lack some of the subtlety of the prior records, or rather, their hypnotic, potent effect. The vocals, while fully grisly and Shamaatae, also seem a bit more repetitive and numbing on this album Sviga Læ or ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ. Granted, as far as such primitive guitars rhythms go, the clarity and punch of the production goes a long way to dressing them up, but I came out of Helvítismyrkr feeling it was just more of the same, only less compelling.

It's still a solid way to kill 50 minutes, mind you, but I'd be lying if the thought wasn't nagging at the back of my mind that producing four full-lengths in as many years might be wearing the formula a bit thin. Visually, it's an appealing record with beautiful, mysterious cover art that maintains loyalty for the Arckanum image, but beneath its surface it lacks some of the black, formidable subtleties that defined all of Shamaatae's best works. It's more than tolerable, but seems to play it a fraction too safe at what might be the perfect time in Arckanum's legacy to deviate or experiment.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

Arckanum - Kostogher (1997)

With Kostogher, Shamaatae decided to trade some of the fine tuned production values of his debut Fran Marder to create a primitive, caustic and aggressive atmosphere. The differences between the two albums are more of aesthetics than actual stylistic deviation, with a razor edged sheen to the guitars that hangs just below the constant, thundering double bass work, and vocals that feel more spastic and I daresay 'bratty', even if they use the same level of echo. From what I've read, this album was intentionally under-mixed, but having heard so many poorer sounds coming from the genre, it still remains level with the 90s works of bands like Marduk or Lord Belial.

What I don't actually appreciate so much upon the sophomore are the guitar riffs, which seem admittedly basic and predictable for the day. Fast and versatile enough to endure the rigors of boredom, but almost entirely incapable of hurling a surprise in the listener's direction. Very standard stuff, common to the Scandinavian third wave. There's more of a mournful melodic integration than the debut, especially in tunes like "Oþer Trulhøyghda" where a simple, sad line is cast over the rhythmic subtext, but neither are these moments any more memorable. The most compelling aspect of the album is in the contrast between the straight on raging black metal sequences and then the folksy, ambient departures like the intro, or "Gamall Uvermark"; or the surge of melancholic violin strings in several of the bridges. Overall, though, I think that it is perhaps "Bedrøvelse", the most melodic track on the album, which is the catchiest, though it does suffer from a sore thumb complex against the more meandering, aggressive environs.

Shamaatae's Burzum-like howlings are infused with more guest cleans this time around, as in the opener "Skoghens Minnen Vækks", but once again they don't add much other than the illusion of versatility. The riffs below the mesh are still methodical and bland, and they remain so for nearly the full hour of the record. The duration itself (almost an hour) also serves to work against it. In the end, Kostogher was a marginal letdown after the debut, but it's still a decent effort if you can forgive its lack of much subtlety for savagery. The debut was not only superior due to its Abyss Studio production, but the songs themselves seemed a better measure of the lyrical, Swedish mysticism and meditation that the creator is indulged with. There is just not that much interesting going on here, and the riffing patterns aren't evil or engaging enough on their own to fuel the fires of its velocity alone.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.arckanum.se/

Arckanum - Fran Marder (1995)

Fran Marder is the first substantial stop on the evolutionary journey of one of Sweden's finest and most consistent black metal outfits, Arckanum. Cutting an imposing (or amusing) figure with his robes, masks, and archaic weaponry (axes, staves, etc.), Shamaatae was able to instantly ingrain himself upon the memories of those who cast eyes upon him (much like Rob Darken's armored woodland posing through the history of Graveland). But Arckanum also deserves some credit as a Swedish answer to Burzum: one man capable of multiple instruments, a single vision joined only by those he hand picks for guest roles, but excelling beyond the crude 'bedroom black' metal aesthetic to something hinging on professional.

This is due largely to the production, which was shared with Peter Tägtgren at his Abyss studios. No stranger to the black metal genre, Fran Marder does share some attributes with Peter's own house band The Abyss in the dry but consistent mix of the guitars, but what Shamaatae has on offer is a far more curious and cultural display of consistency. He's one of the earlier black metal acts to pen his lyrics in the best approximation of the Old Swedish tongue. He's unafraid to draw forth outside or unexpected influences (female vocals, ambient/ritual sequences). He has less of a focus on central melodic themes than his peers at the time (Dissection, Sacramentum, etc), but one can still find the guitar patterns gorgeous and addictive in parts. Fran Marder is not quite the best album in his catalog, nor does it totally distinguish itself from the other formative works of the scene and period, but its selections served as a solid and effective control group from which Shamaatae could further expand his horizons.

Like much of 90s black metal, the guitars relied heavily on the repetition of somber, frost born notation that lulls the listener into a bleak despondency, and much of Fran Marder is performed at a fast but not impossibly fast pace laden with competent blast work. A number of the tracks like "Þe Alder Hærskande Væsende Natur" and "Kununger Af Þæn Diupeste Natu" play this pretty close to the hilt, with little memorable riffing involved in the experience, only the echoed rasp Shamaatae uses for the majority of the album. But there are others such as "Svinna" or the title track which are able to conjure a more lush, calculated wall of sound that envelops the ear. The slower, driving fare like "Gava Fran Trulen" or "Trulmælder" reveals a semblance to the band's precursors Bathory, Darkthrone and Hellhammer, and in general engaging, while "Baerghet" comes off the most original, long stretches of dual guitar melodies that are only joined by percussion near the close of the track, and both rasped and female vocals.

The ambient sequences, especially those used to bookend the album ("Pans Lughn", "Ener Stilla Sior Af Droten Min") are immersive and well done, but a few of the stranger ideas (like the down tuned narration of the intro or Tägtgren's dorky higher pitched guest vocals in "Trulmælder") leave something to be desired. In all, though, Fran Marder was a very promising effort, with a commendable production (both the original and the re-issue) ethic and a rigid, folksy mystique being channeled through its cold winds and ambient resonance. It would be well over a decade before Shamaatae would write an album of a legendary disposition, but the journey itself has not been without its merits, and Fran Marder, for its few flaws, was well worth the time of the avid Scandinavian black metal audience.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.arckanum.se/

Arckanum - Sviga Læ (2010)

Arckanum's ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ was easily among my favorite black metal releases last year, a stunning proof of concept that marked a new career height. Somehow, Shamaatae was able to wring a savage emotional ballast and superior songwriting out of a very simplistic series of riffs, and the crushing tone of the album was unlike any he had wrought before. Sviga Læ doesn't deviate far from that prior full-length, with a similar density of streaming, hostile guitars that twine very basic rhythms into atmospheric, mesmerizing patterns that celebrate its subject matter, two champions of destruction and chaos among the Norse pantheon: Surtr the fire giant and Loki the trickster god, and the burning perdition they will help reap across the brows of the Gods.

Riff by riff, Sviga Læ is not the equal of its predecessor, and I found it took a number of tracks before I started to feel that same level of engrossment. "Læ Elr" evokes a bank of thick and hypnotic riffs that feel like ice melting off the side of some far mountain, but the interaction of guitars and vocals doesn't ever really nail you down, and it is quickly surpassed with the driving "Gylðir Algørir", in which two separate guitar melodies wrangle off one another to a steady blast, converging into the verse, though this too is not one of the best pieces on the album. "In Følva Felr" slows the pace with some plodding, layered riffs that betray their simplicity through the captivating mood they create, like a somber Asgardian epitaph, before "Goðin Eru Blekkt" turns back towards a fiery, serpentine assault of roving black/death metal which recalled some of the better riffing of mainstream Swedish heroes Amon Amarth.

I found the second half of the album more involving. The style doesn't suddenly mutate in "Gramr Girnisk", but the structure of the riffs manifests a deeper mystique, a sodden procession that simultaneously channels mourning and destruction through the black majesty of rhythmic starts and stops. "Andskoti Ferr Austan" is simple and mechanistic, with a moderately paced black/thrash riff akin to later Immortal that opens into an exchange of open chords and trailing rhythms through which you can feel the shaking of the land, great bastions of stone and fire erupting in slow and inevitable motion through the landscape, a herald of the endtimes. This is the perfect place to launch "Múspellzheimr Kemr", with a riff so damned basic and memorable that it should be outlawed, yet unashamedly malevolent, and probably my favorite here. The album closes with "Røk", a sullen instrumental using only clean guitars, and an effective contrast.

Though not as powerful an experience as the masterpiece ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ or the excellent 1995 debut Fran Marder, this 6th album is still among the better Arckanum material Shamaatae has written, and I can't think anyone that derived enjoyment from the prior effort would be left disappointed with this. He remains one of the more potent forces in Swedish black metal, ever tasteful, interesting and maintaining just the right balance of obscurity and loyalty to the traditional values of the genre. Like the Norse artisans Enslaved, Arckanum deals with the medium of Norse mythos in an intelligent, intriguing manner that doesn't belittle the listener with cutout Viking bullshit. It assumes some degree of fascination already inherent in its audience, and then pummels them with mood, a long, low craft being rowed to the end. There are moments of drag in the current, and whorls of wind and thunder battering against its hull, but it still eventually arrives, burning.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/officialarckanummyspace

Arckanum - Þyrmir EP (2009)

This Þyrmir EP would probably be a hard sell if you didn't enjoy Shamaatae's recent full-length masterpiece ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ, but since that was one of my favorite metal releases of the year, I was very curious to hear new material.

Well, there is a single new track here, "Þyrmir", which is similar to the material on the full-length, albeit bearing more of a direct thrash/death influence in the riffs. The atmosphere is hostile and dense like that of the full-length, perhaps even thicker. Over a doom-like breakdown, Shamaatae uses extremely guttural vocals to create a looming, shadowy presence. The other track is not an original, but a cover of Pentagram's "Be Forewarned". The song does little for me to begin with, aside from its killer bridge section, and I'm not sure this version is about to change my mind, but a little raw personality does shine through in Shamaatae's vocals. Aside from the thick bass and chug of the guitar, it does not bear much in common with Arckanum's original work. The solo is pretty cool sounding.

Whether Arckanum will continue the Þ titling on his future efforts is yet to be seen, but he has at least done so here. I can't give the EP much of a recommendation...there is only one original track, and though it's passable, it is not up to the level of the asskicking that was ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ. This is obviously marketed for the diehards.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.arckanum.se/

Arckanum - ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ (2009)

Perhaps the greatest thrill of writing music reviews is when a band you've long considered decent, but lacking that extra 'something', suddenly knocks it out of the fucking park. This is one of those rare moments, because ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ absolutely crushes, obliterating all the band's prior works and nearly every other black metal release I've heard already this year. The album sounds superb, the songs furious with a primitive power that is sheer hypnosis.

Arckanum are one of the earliest Swedish black metal acts, with no shortage of decent and interesting releases to their name (Fran Marder and Kostogher in particular were pretty good), but I was in no way prepared for this. Shamaatae has trumped himself. "Þórhati" unleashes a divebombing volley of rugged chords, almost like sawing dried autumn wood with a scythe, while the verse builds into the perfect yet simple chorus shout. "Þann Svartís" features a glorious embrace of driving black rhythm, a spark of desolate longing caged within the savage melody. "Þyrpas Ulfar" bursts once more from the bleeding womb of the Earth, its rhythm both impossibly simple and powerful. This is black metal! The melodic black that Sweden has always taken great pride in, from the Dissections to the Marduks. Add to that the primitive roots of Arckanum's past and you've got an album truly worthwhile. The consistency of these 11 tracks is as reliable as the character beginning each songtitle. Not a weak moment to be had, but I'd direct you to the brief ringing instrumental riffs of "Þyrstr", the punishing sadness of "Þjóbaugvittr", and the repressed, murky, treacherous tones of "Þá Kómu Niflstormum".

Again, I must mention how important the mix to this album is in its overall effectiveness. This is the perfect sound, straightforward and powerful yet clinging just enough to the tonal atrophy of the majority of the 'basement' scene (and Arckanum's previous releases). The drums and bass plod like thunder beneath the endless battery of grim, warlike chords. Upon listening to this I am instantly transplanted to black and white fields of carrion, the worship of faiths best left forgotten drilled into the psyche through the repetition of but a few notes. Shamaatae's vocals wretch forth labored poems of gnostic entropy. Backing effects of thunder and echo, etc, are placed perfectly through the tracks, each a queue to re-captivate the listener should he/she stray for one second.

ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ deserves only the highest accolades, a very likely candidate for my own end of the year list and probably the best Swedish black metal I've heard since Mörk Gryning decided to call it quits. A Soundtrack to Wintry Death of the Worlds indeed! Hail.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10]

http://www.arckanum.se/