Helvitnir – Wolves of the Underworld

vote
7.5

• Band:
  Helvitnir
• Duration: 00:42:27
• Available from: 03/14/2025
• Label:

• Dusktone

A new devastating reality arrives from the homeland of the Black Metal, a super formation in which those who made the history of this musical genre have also played: we speak of the Helvitnir, formed only two years ago, which can already boast an “Helborn” EP, released in 2024, and now reached the debut on a long distance entitled “Wolves of the Underworld”.
We said of the formation: on the battery there is Hellhammer of the Mayhem, on guitars we find Ihizahg (ex perished) and Bjarkan (Myronoth and ex Ragnarok), finally Hellcommander Vargblod under the voice and bass (also he Myronath and ex Ragnarok).
To be honest, their first EP had not impressed much, both for the quality of the sounds and for the contents; The new full-length, on the other hand, is of a completely different pasta: recording is a shave of icy wind, the battery is devastating and it could not be otherwise considering who is behind the skin. The bass often manages to emerge with a beautiful metal sound, while the couple of guitars thinks about sowing death and destruction, all assisted by a good cleaning of the sounds, capable of making the production crystalline, but at the same time abrasive and powerful.
Another strong point of this Black Metal release is its intensity: the band in fact does not give in for an inch during the duration of the album, marching at a very tightened pace from the first to the last minute. The fast and incessant sound effect similar to a snowyl of snow brings the band to the old immortal, while the style is closest to Marduk/Dark Funeral and a little bit of the Mayhem and Ragnarok.
The tons of black metal riffs are vomited at the speed of light, cross, alternate and meet to create a truly remarkable sound wall. Basically the guitars create a fierce melody, never markedly exaggerated, however, perhaps a middle ground right between the sense of the 'melody' of the Dark Funeral and that of the Marduk. For their remarkable violence, the first three songs of the album constitute a truly superb and interesting triptych, made up of excellent stylistic intuitions and cloaked in a majestic atmosphere that suggests a end of the imminent world. A song like “OdinSbane”, on the other hand, manages to convey a hypnotic and mysterious sensation while not giving up brutality.
Obviously on the originality of the proposal – as long as you want to search it – you still have to work a lot, but certainly the Helvitnir have shown a good dose of personality (just listen to the song of the same name) on this debut. Violence, brutality, beauty and majesty: if the black metal is all these things put together then the Helvitnir caught their meaning with their “Wolves of the Underworld”.
There are no songs that rise particularly compared to the others: this album is like a pack of wolves, it is their union that decrees their strength. Even playing always the same Black Metal already felt and resentful can be a valid choice if, as in this case, violence is added to a good dose of quality and aptitude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joypzbwp8