Nordland - The True Cult of the Earth (2013)

There is this mythological niche in the black metal universe which has of late held a lot of vacancies. I speak of course of that primitive, Nordic majesty once wrought by titans like Bathory, Immortal, Satyricon and Enslaved in their 'primes', or at least when they were molding schematics for the genre to follow them, before traipsing off into their own respective evolutions which often took them to distinctly different pastures. Grim, glorious, epically orchestrated black metal in homage to the paganism and history of Europe, and the sprawling wilderness in which it all took place. Records like Blood Fire Death, Battles in the North, Nemesis Divina, Sons of Northern Darkness, Frost and Dark Medieval Times have forever carved themselves into our hearts, and what makes England's Nordland so special is how it genuinely seems to honor their tradition with an impressively produced, full immersion tide of grey conquest. A spiritual successor to the aforementioned works, and remarkably still manifest from the imagination of a single musician!

When I compare The True Cult of the Earth to its eponymous predecessor, it's quite clear to me that Vorh has done his homework, because both the material and production values here surpass the debut in every conceivable category. The guitars sound even more loaded and emotionally destitute, like the thunder of an ancient Anglo-Saxon battlefield twisted into distorted musical flesh. He doesn't write rocket science riffs here, but primal and potent structures of chords that pound like a flagon on a skull, though they are very often imbued with a saddening sense of melody. The bass playing on this album is fucking magnificent, not because it's technical or particularly groovy, but because it's so voluminous and driven that you can always imagine if the guitars dropped out, that the songs would still haul ass with the rhythm section alone. A lot of maudlin, empty vistas of open picking and sustained chords are interspersed with the burlier blasted sections, and the drums crash, batter and blister along like a cavalry charge through a burning village. Vorh's vocals have all the savagery of an Abbath Doom Occulta and yet also retain that strange sense of vulnerability that emitted from Quorthon's tore throat on the late 80s Bathory records. Nihilistic and imperfect, but then that's the allure...

As if this wasn't all huge enough, Vorh implements cleaner, scintillating string sections (like the bridge of "Dawn Calling of Thunor"), brooding ambiance ("The Great Hall of the Sky"), and distant samples ("Crows") to round out the sum experience. It's largely a guitar driven, traditional black metal record, but carefully matched up with enough placement of atmosphere that it feels like so much more. Without being particularly inventive or unique, The True Cult of the Earth has such a massive sound to it that the listener feels dwarfed by its sense of scale. Seriously, I found it difficult to listen through this indoors, because it seemed it would shake the walls and roof off...unwilling to be contained. Individual riffs are not consistently memorable, but taken as a whole this is just a 'chin up', defiant kick to the teeth of a modern world in which many Europeans have lost their cultural roots/identity. Songs of olde for the ears of now. The album packaging is also quite excellent, and the lyrics will immediately appeal to fans of Enslaved, Immortal, Bathory and Summoning, sweeping and personalized paeans to the Earth and Gods. A solid step forward for Vorh, a tremendous trip worth taking, and further evidence that, alongside bands like Winterfylleth and Wodensthrone, England has developed quite a scene for this stuff in the past five years.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (we watch from the headlands)

http://www.nordland.org.uk/home

Nordland - Nordland (2011)

As one who is not particularly enamored of stewing in his own sweat during the pestilent, persistent heat of summer months, I have to thank those labels and bands who seek to alleviate my suffering with a cold and ready blast of cruelty and desolation to herald the salvation granted me by the climes of autumn and fall. It's not that I'm an especially 'grim' guy, by any means, but I like to watch my own breath in the air. It's in the blood. I am not a beach person. So, to this list of seasonal saviors I must now add the English project Nordland, for one of the more haunted and grievous eponymous albums I've heard of late, rendered all the more impressive by the fact that it's the product of a single musician, Vorh, who handles all vocals and instrumentation.

Not a novel feat within this genre, perhaps, but Vorh has an appreciable ability to wreak gray emptiness upon the listener without any threat of excess warmth or happiness invading a composition. However, this is not constructed through any lack of variation or atmosphere, and these traits are crucial in breaking up the longer duration of tunes like "Vorscara" or "Nordland" which are well over ten minutes in length. He'll transition from standard Immortal/Enslaved tremolo riffing to slower, charnel grooves circa late 80s Bathory, to even sparser sequences of droning, spacious chords that resonate against the natural or synthetic ambiance in the background. As a result, the 60+ minutes of the album move more confidently than one might dread. You won't experience long passages of mind-numbing repetition here, the dynamics are constantly in flux. From the more driving and depressive vice of the chords in "Morth" to the drifting clean guitars that inaugurate "Lords of the Great Dwelling", there is almost no means of predicting what precisely will happen next.

But my accolades can't end there, because Nordland also sounds extravagant, with a production that does not shy away from richness in favor of seeming excessively 'basement' or raw. Full, pulverizing distorted bass lines thunder below the vortices of soul-leeching guitars. The drums sound great, with a full willingness to meddle with tempo tropes, like blasting beneath slower chord patterns. I also like that Vorh baits you along with the promise of some grand, atmospheric climax lurking in the depths of the more standard riffing fare: you always know it's out there, waiting its turn. That said, these passages also serve to overshadow some of the moments leading up to them. Individually, a lot of the pure black metal riffs could use some added notation to make them more interesting. They function as carving knives when one is in the moment, but they don't always cut deeply into the memory. Also, Vorh's thick blackened rasp skirts monotony for a good portion of the album; he does mix it up occasionally, but the further torment of shifted screams and howls might have worked wonders over the crushing despair of the instruments.

Ultimately, though, Nordland is an effective foray into atmospheric antiquity and human suffering, which is about as cold as you'd expect when looking upon either of its covers. Perfect it is not, but neither is it ever cheap or shallow. There is a depth here that warrants further development. If Vorh has shown this much competence in only the first recording, then who knows what the future might hold? The album, originally self-released in 2011, has recently gotten an official reissue through Glorious North, and deservedly so. I would recommend this for those seeking varied and textured Scandinavian-style black metal or simply an escape from the tyranny of the sun.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (a king of many faces)

http://www.nordland.org.uk/home