Den Saakaldte – Pesten Som Tar Over Review

Generally, it’s clear when a superhero becomes “super.” They’re either born that way, or an inciting event (e.g., a spider bite, or witnessing the death of their parents) motivates their change or grants them incredible powers. It’s less clear when a metal band becomes “super.” One famous member? Two? How about two semi-famous ones? Regardless, super-groups have a spotty record on the metal scene. Differing visions, clashing egos, varying styles… all these undoubtedly play a role. But there is something magical and alchemical about a synchronized band that cannot be created by parachuting in accomplished musicians. Black metal band Den Saakaldte is proof of this. 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. Their last one (2014’s Kapittel II: Faen i Halvete) didn’t exactly set Madam X or the metal world alight, so the pressure is on with new album, Pesten Som Tar Over. Are these guys still worthy of the “super” tag?

Stylistically, Pesten Som Tar Over is a fairly straightforward, mid-paced (by genre standards), black metal album. There are bits of early Darkthrone, some depressive stuff a lá Shining, and a raw and organic production to lend a “kvlt” layer of lo-fi-ness to it all. Each of the seven tracks is long (only one clocks in under 8 minutes), taking a meandering rather than direct road through the tortured minds of their creators. The fact that Den Saakaldte’s line-up has changed so frequently over the past few years unfortunately shows—there is no overarching style or theme that emerges, and Pesten Som Tar Over feels, at times, cobbled together.

The major issue with the album is that everything is too long. The overall length is too long. The individual songs are too long. The sections within the songs are too long. Everything is ponderous and dragged out, and the rare parts that are interesting get dragged out and tortured until the interesting titbits have been well and truly cauterized. Biggest offender is “Pesten Som Tar Over,” which drags on for over 10 minutes without going anywhere interesting. Slow parts lurch into fast parts, melodies spark then die out. It just doesn’t work, unfortunately. The album is officially 1 hour long, but it feels so much longer, and by the midway point, I was glancing at my watch.

Pesten Som Tar Over is also hurt by a lack of identity, summed up by the album art, which can’t decide if it’s being ominous, cartoony or ominouscartoony. The music is the same. It’s not malevolent enough to be compellingly scary; it’s not depressed enough to seep into your marrow; it’s not melodic enough to have you humming on your way to work; it’s not heavy enough to crush you into oblivion. It just plods along, offering some nice moments here and there (opening track “Av Satans lid,” and single “Å Skjende En Engel,” both start off great with rapid, entertaining black metal) but nothing persistently high-quality. The album desperately needs focus and trimming because too often, it’s just a bunch of black metal dudes noodling along aimlessly.

Context matters when you review an album. Pesten Som Tar Over came out right around the time I was busy absorbing a bunch of death metal and black metal bangers (Omnivortex, Blood Oath, Disguised Malignance, Mānbryne, etc.) and honestly, every time I got halfway through this, I wished I was listening to one of them, instead. There is nothing terrible here, but very little that got the blood pumping. It just meanders around for too long without ever offering anything truly memorable. For a band with this much talent, that’s disappointing. If Den Saakaldte still qualify as a supergroup, they’re one currently hobbled by kryptonite.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Agonia Records
Websites: agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/album/pesten-som-tar-over | facebook.com/densaakaldte
Released Worldwide: September 29th, 2023