Written by Zax
- Vredensdal
- Fealty of Diabolism
- Black Metal
- Wisconsin, USA
- June 25, 2019
- 8.0/10
Vredensdal is a black metal band out of Wisconsin in the United States. USBM tends to get overlooked because of the sheer amount of quality black metal that comes out of other countries like Norway. This album is a prime example of why we should be paying closer attention to it, because some real gems come out of the states.
This is a pretty raw piece of black metal, probably the rawest black metal record I’ve enjoyed all year next to the new Consummation. Don’t let that deter you though if that’s not your cup of tea, it’s not lo-fi by any means. It sounds good, but there is a very heavy kvlt sensibility. This comes through in the lyrics especially, or at least the ones I can make out. In typical black metal fashion the lyrics are very dark and doom ridden and they explore some blasphemous themes here and there. Occult vibes are also present on tracks like “Ved Midnatt…” and “Gather, All Ye Hellions.” The track “Mistress Of Mayhem” discusses a succubus, which I think is a subject more metal bands should explore.
The artist of this cover is unknown and the piece is was created a month after the The Great Peshtigo Fire. A natural disaster that occured in Wisconsin in 1871, considered to be the worst wildfire in American history with between 1500 and 2500 deaths. You can find the full piece here – CarcassBomb
What inspired the use of the art was the idea around the force of nature causing chaos and change without your control. The idea of the album was to do a similar thing but more mentally – Vredensdal, via Instagram message.
As for the instrumentation, this album is very riff heavy. The guitars are monstrous in tone, but they don’t overpower the mix. The bass, while not extremely present, gets the job done very well. It’s low and deep, but it’s also melodious. It does a great job of holding up that low end and making the album sound huge. The drums are interesting because, instead of being overly reliant on blast-beats like most black metal, they opt for a varied performance with a ton of different patterns and song structures to keep you interested. The vocals are pretty traditional for black metal, very solid for most of the album. There are a few parts vocally that I’m not crazy about, but nothing huge.
I am very pleased with how this album turned out, especially considering I was sent a copy on CD. It’s a very welcome addition to the collection, and it’s a damn good listen. This is the new wave of USBM.
Be the first to comment