EP REVIEW: Tsjuder – Throne Of The Goat (Reissue)

Here I am reviewing the “Throne Of The Goat” reissue from Norwegian Black Metal legends TSJUDER! Within this we get the original 1997 EP and a re-recordered version from 2017, marking the 20th anniversary of the release.

2017

1. Intro opens up with some creepy ambient noise effects, screaming drum beats. It really is haunting. A great opening for a classic EP.
2. Throne of the Goat has an amazing opening riff, killer raw sounds and just an evil atmosphere that Tsjuder have always succeeded in creating. It is brutal and aggressive, a band whose sound will always be unforgiving and unrelenting. The Black ‘n’ Roll rhythm of it something very characteristic of their home country Norway, and such a defining element in 90s Black Metal.
3. Dying Spirits continues with fast paced riffs, blasting drums and screeching vocals. The sheer chaos and morbid feeling of the band is captured in its raw essence beautifully. The atmosphere of the song is stunning, in a particularly acrid way. The ending section is remarkably catchy and to me resembles the feeling of the track “Fruhling” by Nargaroth.
4. Outro closes the EP with more creepy ambience and evil sounding discordant guitars and noises. Equally as haunting as the introduction.

Note: The re-recorded sound is much clearer yet not losing the raw aggression of Tsjuder and their style.

1997

1. Intro once again brings us haunting evil vocals and drum noise, some guitar whammy chaos I believe I can pick out but I am not even certain. The recording is so raw, I must say I like it though, and it is even more eerie than the original.
2. Throne of the Goat of course has the same songwriting but without the same production, the raw static sound is really cool, and has a super nostalgic feeling. The mixing is of course not all there, or at all really. But it has that evil Black Metal demo feeling to it that many of us have grown to love.
3. Dying Spirits once again gives us a repeat of the rerecording but the sheer attack of this with its raw original recording to me is something beautiful, and I am sure to the masses, something hideous. It has such an honest, primitive and untampered feeling which to me is perfection.
4. Outro gives us effectively one last bout of unsettling noises, closing the release nicely.

The reissue is awesome, something which contains but original and raw Tsjuder demos but also a more modern and relatable counterpart to each is a really nice idea, and everything on here was enjoyable. -7.5/10