Svartsyn - Wrath Upon the Earth

Release Date: January 21, 2011
Label: Agonia Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Intro
2.  Wrath of Leviathan
3.  My Mountain
4.  Deathsworned
5.  Dawn of Triumph
6.  Pyramids of Deathlight
7.  Blood Temple
8.  He Who Knows

Total playing time:  38:30

December 9, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

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*Comments:

A long-awaited follow-up to Svartsyn’s 2007 Timeless Reign finally drops in early January by way of Wrath Upon the Earth. After being quite impressed with the former I had high hopes for the predecessor that left me quite satisfied.

After hearing Arckanum’s latest effort I was in a blackened mood to keep my head in tune, so Svartsyn fits the bill by shredding my head into pieces with assaulting guitar work and growling vocals that open wide they gates of Hell and force me in (or maybe I go willingly). Speedy and disruptive, Wrath Upon the Earth is my current catalyst for all things fast and evil, carrying a deadly combination of dark metal and haunting vocals ala Jeff Becerra from Possessed, a more than welcome change of pace. The marriage between the old and new styles, both vocally and musically, serves Svartsyn well within the fast-picking tremolo style that makes the genre noticeable, if even a bit repetitive.

Very bass-heavy in spots, tracks like “Blood Temple” dispel the notion that most modern black metal is boring and suffers from stagnancy; recycling riffs and chords is part of the game, but making something heavy and decidedly raucous is a feat not easily undertaken. Again, we have some slower, even groggy moments of introspective devilry, but for every speed-picking moment laced throughout we are treated to a grooving album that capitalizes more on style and atmosphere than the hum-drum drug-store variety malevolence.

“Deathsworned” drives the point home even harder with a relentless brutality that is almost akin to a runaway bus barreling through your front room and landing right on top of your girlfriend’s horrible mother - it’s a deadly shock to the system, but you’re happy it happened and wish for a replay! Another fine track is “Pyramids of Deathlight”, which is about as close to death metal as you can get without crossing over completely. The pace of this album was immediately felt from the get-go and never let you down, even when the slower movements infected the room with glorious lucidity.

Much like Arckanum, Svartsyn has really failed to put out a clunker album anywhere; I was initially intrigued to hear Wrath Upon the Earth when I found out it was coming and I’m happy to say that I was, once again, happily surprised at what I’ve heard. The barreling bass will bash in your head if the classic feel of the music can’t, though I seriously fail to see how that’s possible.