Failure of Mankind

Svartnar offers a punchy variation of black metal to what is normally expected of what most bands produce within the genre these days. I remember picking out this release because the lyrical themes intrigued me and appealed greatly to my mood at the time. Negativity and hatred are certainly commonplace amongst black metal bands, but it is how you channel that aggression that is important. In this day and age its very easy to be able to translate lyrics from one language to another so that shouldn't cause much of a problem if the listener isn't too familiar with Swedish, which presumably is what this is written in. Svartnar have done a competent job of doing so.


Being a one man band probably takes away from what this is. Perhaps if the positions of certain instruments were filled by offers, then maybe this record wouldn't be as disappointing as it is. I certainly did enjoy 'Failure of Mankind', Svartnar's debut full-length album, but there are a few issues I have with it. First, its far too short. I've come to expect, get used to and rather enjoy long songs. On average, song lengths are just over three minutes. If there were many tracks available to listen to I might not have been so irked, but there simply aren't.


The release feels slightly rushed. Everything is packed into such a short space of time and doesn't allow the listener to fully grasp what Svartnar are trying to convey through the music. From what is on offer, I quite enjoy. The melodies and atmospheric nature are appealing to the senses and have enhanced my overall opinion of the album. The vocals detract from the music, in my opinion. They're overbearing and scratchy. Alexander has a rasping style of vocals which often tear the music down. After a nice build up, the vocals come in and kill the mood laid down by the ethereal beauty of the encapsulating riffs and catchy drum patterns. Another issue comes in the form of the guitar distortion. Its too loud and scratchy for the greater good of the other instruments. Everything plays second fiddle to the guitars. They take over and detract from the sad and celestial ambience.


Its not all negatives though. As aforementioned, Svartnar create some melodic passages which are pleasing to the ear. These are the driving force behind the message. One can also see a lot of potential. Given time, Svartnar can become masters of a genre which has become quite genre ... Depressive black metal. This becomes apparent towards the latter stages of the album, which tend to be the best stages. Particularly the track 'Svartnar'. Repetitive riffs which have the ability to grasp the attention and hold it for however long is necessary. Double bass pedals which blast harmoniously together with the strong willed bass guitar. Alexander's vocals fit incredibly well with the music for the first time throughout the duration of the record. This song is a major high point.