Nifelheim

Swedish black metal is an interesting beast. There is less of a defined 'sound' compared to the contemporary Norwegian, Finnish or Greek scenes. Each of those countries projects a particular image in my mind. That image may be of ultra-thin tremolo and forest posturing, of punks giving the middle finger, or of sweltering occultists surrounded by smoke. Whether such aesthetic stereotypes hold up to scrutiny is debatable. I have formed these impressions through hearing each scene’s most iconic moments. The Swedish sound doesn’t conjure any such image for me. This is odd, considering that Sweden produced the godfather of black metal (Quorthon), followed by other fine bands (Marduk, Dissection, Setherial, etc).

If I was attempting to pinpoint an ‘archetypal’ Swedish black metal sound, I would probably choose the period between 1992 to 1994. This encompasses records like "The Priest of Satan", and the 'blacker' songs from Marduk's "Dark Endless" (such as the title track). These albums don’t have the ‘fuzz’ of the Norwegian bands. Instead, they have jagged, dry productions that project their ice-cold riffs in sharp relief. There is a Bathory influence, but death metal roots are exposed in the occasional mammoth chug. The subject of this review, Umeå's Throne of Ahaz, was another band playing this old Swedish black metal vibe. The band's debut album "Nifelheim" was recorded in early 1993, unreleased until 1995.

Is it any good? Well, yes, but it won’t stimulate the hairs on the back of your neck. In all honesty, most of what this album has to offer can be heard in the opening track ("Northern Thrones"). This is the best song on the album. The Bathory-esque rhythms are writ large. There is a cold, shrill (but full) guitar sound. The vocals are rasping and evil as hell. Best of all, there is an irresistible moshy breakdown at the three minute mark. This song would fit on any Scandinavian black metal playlist you cared to compile. The rest of the album is decent. The songs pass without much to distinguish them, but the riffs are good and the execution is solid.

The problem is the lack of any real atmosphere. This album feels like a collection of songs rather than a cohesive statement of black metal malice. The band’s attempts at anything other than harsh riffing sound dated. Take the guitar-less moments in "The Dawn of War" for example, where the bass takes over without doing much with the space. The most glaring example is the title track, book-ended by ‘howling wind’ sounds. This conscious attempt to create an atmosphere is lost once the actual song starts. This criticism extends to the whole album. Compare this to a record like "Hammerheart", where the grainy, weather-beaten feeling carries the listener from song to song. Throne of Ahaz do not capture this vibe. Good riffs and a killer guitar sound are not enough in a genre like black metal.

This album is worth a spin. It is a cold, evil experience and it sounds good when played in the background. Nonetheless, this is one of those albums which is soon forgotten after it ends. There are few moments that linger in the memory. If this had been released in 1993 then it may have caused more of a stir, but would still have been outflanked by faster, grimmer, more extreme stuff a year later. Since it was released in 1995, it never really stood a chance (we'd had "In the Nightside Eclipse" by that point). There are better albums in this early Swedish black metal microcosm; "The Priest of Satan" is the one that comes to mind. Check "Nifelheim" if you like this sound, but don't expect too much.

Throne of Ahaz are an example of the importance of timeliness in music history. Their debut, Nifelheim, was recorded over six days in early 1993, but label delays resulted in a '95 release. I think this two year wait ultimately cost the band their chances of joining the black metal canon. It's not that the coldly melodic Swedish sound here wasn't around in 1993 (the year of The Somberlain) but Throne of Ahaz's relatively early adoption may have put them in a spot where their music may have influenced the coming wave. Nifelheim by itself was by no means groundbreaking, but if the business end of music had panned out for them, I wouldn't be surprised if this album were better-known than the semi-obscure gem it is today.

Throne of Ahaz's brief and understated career offered up two solid albums ablaze in the Swedes' penchant for blackened riffwriting. Their second album, On Twilight Enthroned, was a more typically melodic album, and arguably more proficient than Nifelheim. For the debut, Throne of Ahaz wouldn't take frostbitten black metal any further than, say, Darkthrone with their "unholy trilogy" of classics, but Nifelheim had it where it counted. A hateful atmosphere, well-sculpted riffs and a fitting production give the album all the makings of a would-be classic.

Is there much to say about the classic Second Wave sound that hasn't already been uttered? Nevertheless, Throne of Ahaz had a grasp of black metal that still sounds compelling. The atmospheric Darkthrone coldness is fused gracefully with a more controlled, melodic take on riffs. Somewhat in line with the classic-era Samael, Nifelheim shouldn't be appreciated on a basis of overall songwriting so much as the individual riffs themselves. Throne of Ahaz would deliver more memorably crafted tunes on On Twilight Enthroned, but I don't think they ever topped themselves riff-for-riff after the debut. "Northern Thrones" is a blissfully cold and near-perfect demonstration of Second Wave atmosphere. Throne of Ahaz demonstrate great riffs and ear-catching melodies without falling upon lead guitars to do the work. Beyond a hair of mandatory Nordic synth-ambient (doing little to grab attention, I should add) Nifelheim is all about the most traditional elements of black metal.

Guitarist Whortael (who would later play in The Moaning and Gates of Ishtar) is easily the brightest-shining star on Nifelheim. Amid the flock of similar albums that released around the same time, only the riffs really stand out. There's a lot of good to be said about the other aspects of this album however. Considering Throne of Ahaz had the experience of a single demo before this, it's all the more impressive they managed to put such a sharp-sounding record together. Listening to it over two decades since its release, it's still been a while since I've heard an album that manages to strike such a fine balance between rawness and clarity. So, the question remains: If it had been released on time, would Nifelheim have earned some status as a black metal classic? Possibly not, though I'm certain many more would have taken notice of these guys. They had the right atmosphere, and to their credit, they didn't linger long before evolving their sound into something new.

I remember the days when I didn’t have air-conditioning in my car. It was painted black (of course), and in summer, whenever it was standing in the sun all day long, the temperature inside of it would get hardly bearable. But then I would just put this album into my car stereo and the temperature inside would instantly drop some 30 degrees. The car being comfortably chilly then, I could start driving…

Now, let’s be serious: ‘Nifelheim’ is of course not an album to listen to while driving your car, and it’s certainly not an album to listen to in the hot sun either. But you get the idea what kind of an atmosphere this album creates: a freezing one. As the minimalist black/white layout already hints at, this is pure second wave Black Metal without any compromises, recorded in northern Sweden in the beginning of 1993. Unlike their second, more melodic album ‘On Twilight Enthroned’, ‘Nifelheim’ does not have that typical swedish sound. The sound here is like a winter night, piercingly cold yet clear, favoring the trebles. Don’t worry, it is not sterile, but stays organic and sufficiently raw to maintain the atmosphere. The riffs are very varied, ranging from typical scandinavian tremolo-picked buzz-saws to more old-school thrashy ones, and they are always played in a dirty yet flawless way, like they should. The guitar-sound on ‘Nifelheim’ is icy, one of the coldest I have ever heard (and I have heard a lot). On top of that, Beretorn is howling like a possessed wolf. His vocal expression is extremely hateful. The pace of the music is mostly mid-tempo or even a bit slower than that (not 'Black Doom Metal-slow'), but there are enough fast parts as well to keep it varied. The eight tracks are rather compact, simple but well written; there are no useless gimmicks, only straight grimness. Although keyboards are present in some tracks, they are very scarcely used.

‘Nifelheim’ is a great Black Metal Album that unfortunately seems to be forgotten by most nowadays. If not quite a classic, it comes close to being one, so if you are interested in Black Metal in the true sense of the word (or if you don’t have air-conditioning in your car), then I can highly recommend it.