Norwegian Metal

Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart Review

By GardensTale on January 25, 2024 in Reviews, Alternative Metal, Gothic Metal, Progressive Metal, 82 comments

“Angry Metal Guy might be the only place on the internet where Madder Mortem won’t need an introduction for a significant amount of its readers. The Norwegian band first made waves here with Red in Tooth and Claw, and those waves got much bigger with Marrow earning a well-deserved 4.5 and topping several lists. It’s also the only band with a movie review on the site. When there is no news on the band I still can’t stop name-dropping them, even when it’s not relevant to the music I’m reviewing. So when I contacted the band to send them the movie review and they told me they were in the middle of recording a new album, my inner hype machine went into overdrive.” Heart of a fanboy.

Vemod – The Deepening Review

By El Cuervo on January 23, 2024 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, 21 comments

“The sophomore album can be a make-or-break moment. Does a band double-down on what made their first release remarkable, or dilute its impact and fade into obscurity? The Deepening by Vemod is such a record, although comes so long after the debut that the band might as well be new again. 12 years is a long gap and a long time in which a band may reinvent itself. The Deepening finds these Norwegians deepening their own lore through a new take on their original black metal – but has the gap afforded their new sound quality too?” Deep or sunken?

Sovereign – Altered Realities Review

By Steel Druhm on January 19, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 65 comments

“From the chilly fjords of Norway comes the full-length debut by retro prog-death-thrashers, Sovereign. Formed by members of black and thrash acts like Nocturnal Breed and The Konsortium, Altered Realities is prime Death worship mixed with a generous topping of Possessed, Sadus and Demolition Hammer granola. It’s technical as Hell, proggy enough to be unusual, and has the requisite amount of thrashery to kick some teeth loose. If pressed to explain the album’s sound in an elevator pitch, I would say it sounds like the album Death could have recorded between Spiritual Healing and Human.” Altering the future again?

Sworn – A Journey Told Through Fire [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Carcharodon on December 18, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 45 comments

“Hailing from Bergen, Norway,Sworn have been toiling away in relative anonymity since 2005. Two early, and frankly unremarkable, records were followed by a nine-year gap before the release of 2018’s very good, Dark Stars and Eternity. Melodic black metal with a ton of atmosphere, and sounding more Finnish than Norwegian for much of its run, the album was only really hampered by a slightly questionable mix. There is no question, however, that it represented a real step up in quality for the quartet when compared to their first two outings. Scroll forward to July this year and, still unsigned, Sworn dropped their fourth LP, A Journey Told through Fire.” The fire still burns.

Leonov – Procession Review

By Twelve on December 13, 2023 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, 11 comments

“Leonov will always have a special place in my heart for being the recipients of the first review I ever wrote for this site (Wake, their sophomore release, and one I still return to on occasion). In the five years since that fateful October day, it’s been a fascinating exercise to see how my writing has progressed over the years, and indeed to compare my life then to my life now. I suspect the members of Leonov feel the same way; five years is a long time.” Time, tides, Twelve.

Strange New Dawn – New Nights of Euphoria Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on November 27, 2023 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, 21 comments

“Once upon a time, there were two brothers, one played bass and the other a guitar. In 2000, these brothers helped create Journey to the End of the Night, Green Carnation’s debut album. From here, they went off to form the mighty In the Woods…, hoping to expand on the sound of yesteryear Green Carnation. After leaving both bands, Green Carnation and In the Woods… remained, drastically morphing their sound and pushing beyond the boundaries of long-winded progressiveness, orchestration, and flowing choirs. Come 2013, the Botteri brothers attempted it again with Strange New Dawn.” Woods, flowers, dawns, oh my!

Kambodsja – Resilient Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on October 12, 2023 in Reviews, Post-Hardcore, Punk, Stoner Rock, 14 comments

“Don’t let anyone tell you different, metal is fun—well, except for all the times when it isn’t. But even when it is fun, many metal genres have a hard time achieving the same kind of raw joviality that their cousins in the punk space can. Good ol’ heavy metal and thrash make a good play—they share roots after all. But when it comes to yelling playfully in a mix with less of a regard for tonality and more of a focus on blasting a message out with volume as a guide, punk’s got an edge that’s hard to match. Kambodsja knows this, and they play the game well, slowly manipulating their exact style over the course of the past couple decades.” Be loud.

Den Saakaldte – Pesten Som Tar Over Review

By Doom_et_Al on October 9, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 11 comments

“Formed in 2006 by guitarist Sykelig, the band has previously featured members from Shining, Gehenna and Dødheimsgard. Unfortunately, most of these folks have gone, raising the question about whether Den Saakaldte still qualifies as a “super group” anymore. There’s one way to shut up the doubters and that’s to release a killer album.” Kill or be filler.

Eternity – Mundicide Review

By El Cuervo on July 18, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 24 comments

“I invite you to observe the album artwork for Eternity’s third record, Mundicide. I was immediately struck by its painfully and laughably literal depiction of humanity’s interaction with its planet, especially with the cute little arms physically sticking out the earth. In fact, it was for the reason of the art that one of my esteemed colleagues chose this record for my review. Eternity proffer Norwegian black metal with roots intertwined with black metal’s innovators,” Malaise is kvlt.

Tsjuder – Helvegr Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on July 3, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 20 comments

“It’s been eight years since the band released their lukewarm Antiliv album, and I’ve been craving the nastiness that makes them so great ever since. While many will argue Antiliv was a great album, it lacked the energy the band typically brings to the table. No matter who this duo hires on the drums, everyone gives it all to each release. But I didn’t quite feel that on Antiliv. It doesn’t matter if you disagree because Helvegr doesn’t give a rat’s ass about our opinions.” Tsjuder jumping.