ALBUM REVIEW: Murdryck – Födelsen

Here I review the second full length from Swedish Black Metallers Murdryck! Set for release on May 1st via Leviaphonic Records! This band actually started out playing Dark Ambient music but around 2014 changed and re-shaped their sound to invigorate the Black Metal flame, this should get interesting.

1. Intro sets things in with booming ambience and eerie yet gloriously epic soundscapes. The huge battle styled symphonies are truly powerful with an ambiguous mixture of haunting melodies and in your face snare drums. This was an excellent and unexpected beginning to the release that I really enjoyed, very well put together.
2. Vålnad grinds out churning Black Metal riffs, blasting drums and howled screams. The melancholic yet powerfully aggressive assaults of the band are immediately enjoyable with a tight production, old school sound and so much to be offered from the onset. Powerfully cascading darkness with a full-energy rhythm hits us with waves of gorgeously performed old school Black Metal with pristine energy. There are bleaker sections that sound killer, breaking up the attacks nicely and adding in some groove. A fantastic first impression for the full band.
3. Födelsen starts with cold and eerie drawn out riffs, built in drums and an incredibly effective use of atmospherics. Searing lead guitars slowly drive out melodic touches over the convulsive groove of the piece that shortly fires us into slow-paced storming riffs. Blasting drums and tremolo picking soon rejoin with a gnarly, unsettling sound to things, accentuated by the hideously demonic vocals. With a slower tempo but equally brutal execution, this song really seems to crawl along with a meandering menace that is captivating throughout, especially within the more doomy sections with some really ambient bass playing. Another ferociously brilliant track.
4. Sea Spirit of the Night follows up with more atmospherics, old school built in guitars and hard hitting drums. While bleak, there is a sense of foreboding as the gruesomely heavy riffs soon decimate you along with the crashing drum hits. The talent behind the songwriting and sheerly wondrous musicianship has been present throughout but these grooving melodies of brutally harsh Black Metal really showcase that beautifully. The intricacy of the quieter sections tied in with full paced, bestial assaults is so perfectly interwoven. I was impressed by the technicality of the guitar solo which still remained soulful and did not feel at all obnoxious or out of place. The drums really hammer out the aggression behind the mournful riffs, a gorgeous juxtaposition and yet another wonderfully played song with a nice simplistic sampling outro that was very effective.
5. Blood Sacrifice starts with simple cymbal crashes before driving out warm guitar riffs over the upbeat drums, excellently pounding away. The song begins to dance with blistering leads and discordant melodies that are gorgeously intertwined to create a unique variety of textures. The vocals join and the instrumentals begins this sort of thrashy, old school Heavy Metal storm with some killer bass grooves. While this song may not be as atmospheric as the others, it was equally awesome with a really fun rhythm to it. Another thing I really liked about this piece was how damn catchy it was, especially with the NWOBHM style solo. Great stuff!
6. Black Plague Eclipse drops cavernously heavy and doomy atmospherics on us with a crushing strength. The monstrous groove of this slow tempo beginning is decimating with brutality before blistering blast beats and monolithic guitar riffs take us back into full paced atmospherics. There are some really weird upbeat grooves in this song that work strangely well with the otherwise super-intimidating piece, actually adding some brilliance with contrast. The bass tone on this song really stands out with a warm slide style under the icy cold tremolo guitars. The drums are consistently intricate and the vocals remain piercingly energetic through this progressively masterful Black Metal. A guitar solo makes an appearance but, as before, in a tasteful and not at all pretentious manner that does not outstay its welcome. This track is one of the most intricate, hypnotising and beautifully put together pieces of Black Metal I have heard in quite a while. The song breaks into some esoteric cleans before rebuilding to glorious war-chant attacks and grooves. Absolutely astounding!
7. Shadow Beings belts out more grooving guitars and punchy drums but with a melancholy in the notes. The convulsive rhythm is filled with a menacing foreboding that works excellently as we are lurched into furious grooves and bleak intervals. The vocals join with full force as the maniacal screams beautifully coat that mesmerising and piercing instrumentals, working in unison to create a huge momentous atmospheric. The use of sparse discordance is similar in fashion to the 90s Norwegian Black Metal bands, but these Swedes utilise it in a whole new way. The band seem to take traditional elements of many Black Metal styles in their music and re-invigorate the idea. A blistering solo ties us into the massive, cascading ambience of the lead riffs. Another ludicrously impressive piece of truly astonishing music.
8. Hymnens Svarta Toner brings in the ending of this album, something I say with a heavy heart. Starting off with cricket and also digging sounds being sampled as the sombre guitars fade in, drums drop us into the full mix of storming grooves. While the music itself is upbeat, there is a mournful energy from the whole band, really becoming evident with the hellish screeches of the vocalist. With this negativity comes an impressively mournful piece, filled with rich atmospherics and still remaining ferociously groovy, catchy and in-your-face. Does this band have a limit to their songwriting ability? The sheer variation of not only songs like this within themselves, but the whole album suggests they know no limitation. A searing piece of blisteringly diverse and intricate Black Metal, closing the album with as much skilful musicianship and consistent brilliance as they have shown and upheld throughout.

This album blew me away. Some of the most incredibly intricate, savagely aggressive but also stunningly progressive Black Metal albums to grace 2019, so far. There is depressive and atmospheric flourishes but plenty of traditional in-your-face assaults, combining to make a truly fantastic journey through the bands extensive musical abilities with endless exciting twists and turns. A must listen, do not miss out on this ridiculously good slab of creative and endearingly diverse Black Metal! -9/10