Light the Black Flame

Sometimes, your reasons for liking a record stem from odd places and it is not that easy to put a specific desire into words. Let me try enthusiastically, let me fail miserably and let me put it like this nonetheless: there once was a film critic that wrote about the movie "Pulp Fiction", especially about that scene where the contract killer Vincent picks up Mia, the wife of his boss, to take her out to dinner at that weird burger place. As Vincent walks through her living room with "Son of a Preacher Man" in the background and heroin in his bloodstream, the aforementioned critic always feels like being under a comfortable blanket of movie warmth. As weird as this may sound, it takes us exactly to the album in question. Vergelmer did not forge a timeless classic that was supposed to take the world by storm, but they most certainly deliver that comfortable blanket of movie warmth. You feel at home between their notes, you rest between familiar Swedish melodies and the cult that comes with it. You like the atmosphere because its creators have felt about life just like you. There are not many extreme metal records that I can safely associate with being at home and at peace with my own thoughts. Well done, Vergelmer, I don't really know how you managed to do that!

"Oh my, what is this?", might one ask. Although Vergelmer have a few blasts and in one song even thrash beats to offer, most of the time is spent with an almost chilled mid tempo drum pump and a lot of tragic, melancholic and introverted riffing that does not really seem to fit the texts about gettin' that sweet sweet violent and extra bloody revenge on the christians for uh... you know... doin' the thing with the thing... The occasional self pity suicide party lyrics seem to be a better match for the lethargic tremolo and the calm power chords. It's easy to overlook Vergelmer because they don't have spectacular superficial show elements or prison records like other bands from that time. But there is some strength to be found in this band. I find myself returning to its music because the relaxed mixture of Swedish melodic death and even more Swedish melodic black metal without complicated guitar theatrics does have a place in this world.

Sometimes the rhythm guitars just spit out open chords or extremely monotone clouds of sound as if they lost the real desire to built a real pillar for the rest and it fucking works. Sometimes you get some engaging melodies and dynamic folksy twists and it fucking works. There is a lot more going on than the ear might pick up on during the first few spins. The vocals are hissing a bit too high and are therefore not easy to decipher sometimes, a small piece of genre candy that I have always liked very much. There are some keys and acoustic sprinkles that fit the overall atmosphere very well, the production is very organic, warm and natural on this thing and some of the melodies are actually extremely catchy if you got used to their restraint and their overall simplicity. And let me praise those cymbal crashes in the end because they are mixed very rich and pleasing! Wonderful work!

I like this record a lot and I understand everyone that doesn't. It has its weakness, its derivative nature and its competition in all decades. And I have to detract some points for that cover artwork. My god, if that is not one of the ugliest creatures I have ever seen with my own eyes. What is that, does it really possess a vagina that is shaped like a key hole? And those demonic melon tits are creeping me out. What the actual fuck, Vergelmer?

This album approximates the Swedish metal stylings of Sacramentum and Dissection, but with a bit more tendency toward midpaced passages. There are definitely moments of inspiration, but every time a song shows promise of leading the listener into new and interesting directions, it subsequently proceeds to fall into a lifeless rut and putrefy rather than continue to develop.

Neither the drums nor the rhythm guitar are well played, and they seem to intermittently drift off time with each other. The ride cymbal has an especially irritating trebly sound, and the drummer's frequent use of it makes the slower passages all the more difficult to endure. The vocals on the other hand are well done, and I like how they are placed a bit low in the mix, giving them a dark and haunting quality.

This is neither groundbreaking nor particularly well executed music. It's not by any means terrible, but I think enough other bands have trod the same ground and done a better job of it, that I couldn't really recommend this album.