This is more than I expected from this black trio. I'm trying hard to find the words that would do justice to this masterpiece. Maybe 'great' is the right one... There are lots of black bands around nowadays and it's very hard to find quality bands, that have something of their own. Well, I (in my opinion) have found one, and a great one too...

When listening to the first two tracks, you can imagine what this band could be, but as the third song starts, you know what this band is.

I wished that the sounds would be as raw as on their demo, but these sounds fit perfectly to the music too, although sounding a little weak at times, but so what?

The vocals are more controlled and they have been mixed quite low. It's no longer pure torment and agony as on that demo mentioned before. Also the keyboards are kind of low, but at times they rise forth giving the music some spooky (?) fills. The lyrics are all done by the bassist and they all are about nordic mythologies and stuff like that. Although they are not any trendy lyrics, but very poemlike tales...

The best tracks on this are, the quite technical, "Uller" and the 16 minutes long "Yggdrasill's Children Fall". They both have atmosphere and anger combined into a great form. Maybe I'm giving this more than it really deserves, but it's my ultimate choice for the best record of 1995.

Get this, it's worth it.

Reviewed by Tommi Rantanen

Inferno webzine (website)

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