vote
8.0
- Band:
VANHELGD - Duration: 00:40:31
- Available from: 12/07/2024
- Label:
-
Dark Descent
Streaming not yet available
It comes out almost six years after the previous “Deimos Sanktuarium” and it sounds like the celebration of almost twenty years of career and sound research, the new discographic chapter of Vanhelgd; an album that represents a real test of strength, the result of a prolonged and careful gestation. Accustomed to publishing new works every two or three years, this time the Swedish death metal band has decided to take even more time, and the result is a work that shines more than ever for melodic complexity and compositional refinement.
In this slightly more harmonious context than usual, the lead guitar, in particular, this time emerges as the undisputed protagonist, weaving evocative and nuanced plots. The efforts of Mattias Frisk and Jimmy Johansson in the band's career have never been just an accompaniment to riffs, but in the case of the material on “Atropos Doctrina” we can effectively speak of a narrative voice capable of guiding the listener through changing and fascinating sound scenarios. Compared to the previous album, which had a more doom and murky soul, the album is more lively and tumultuous, without obviously giving up that depth that has long since become a trademark of the band.
If “Deimos Sanktuarium” at times exasperated and stressed certain monochromatic vibrations, the new “Atropos Doctrina” – while keeping far away from the essential and brazen death metal of the distant beginnings – reintroduces moments of biting rhythm and a more urgent tone that give a renewed energy to the music of Vanhelgd, whose severity is often amplified by the use of the mother tongue in the lyrics. Some songs, characterized by a particularly short duration, break the rhythm and add a dynamism that makes the tracklist more unpredictable and compelling. This structural variety is undoubtedly one of the keys to the success of “Atropos Doctrina”, where each track develops in its own way, avoiding replicating at all costs the scheme or mood of the previous one.
Above all, however, it is Vanhelgd's personality that emerges with force: the quartet continues to architect a hybrid between death, black and doom metal that does not find many equals in today's scene. The old-school influences and attitude are present and well-rooted, but the band once again wisely avoids the simple nostalgic revival, preferring to create a distinctive sound that blends elements of Edge Of Sanity, Desultory, Unanimated, early At The Gates and Paradise Lost. These references emerge subtly, without ever suffocating the now consolidated identity of the band, which has long been very skilled in mixing different ideas into a coherent and personal sound texture, endowed with a kaleidoscopic transversality that lets us penetrate various states of mind with the same intense immersion. It is no coincidence that every listen to this very balanced melange of accelerations and floating reveals new nuances, demonstrating how the long wait has been amply rewarded.
With “Atropos Doctrina”, Vanhelgd not only respect their tradition, but also expand the boundaries of their sound, showing innate tenacity and a further desire to interpret their classic influences from different perspectives, for a final result capable of brilliantly oscillating between a new aesthetic and elegant nods to the past.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM