Elde

When fronted with the phrase “pounding Norwegian black metal” (as the promo sheet says) my mind instantly thinks of all the bands keeping it old school, paying tribute to Mayhem, Darkthrone and whatnot; fast, unrelenting blasting. But Alverg certainly doesn’t fit into that category. In fact I wouldn’t call this pounding at all, but more of a slower atmospheric type of black metal.

A great piano-piece starts the CD off, instantly building to the sombre, bleak mood that is the backbone of Elde. This is an extremely atmospheric album, where the riffs are heart-felt and the vocals reach into your core. Ancient Wisdom feels inevitable to mention for comparison, as well as a small dose of Burzum. The tempo is rather slow for the most-part, but certainly not to the point of doom metal. Vocally it’s fairly silent, almost just lurking in the background, cursing life itself. But what is Alverg’s strongest selling-point must be the riffs, since you can’t find warmer riffing that feels so chilling. There are some magnificent guitar lines to be found here, and together with the haunting vocals and skilled drumming they build up an amazing atmosphere. I can’t help but to be overwhelmed with emotions; negativity, depression and misanthropy burdening my inner essence.

Elde is a one-hour long trip where you’ll be haunted by your own personal demons. Close the shades, turn off the lights, crawl up into foetal position and feel the weight of the world come down on you.

Originally written for http://www.mylastchapter.net