VALDAUDR – Du Skal Frykte

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7.0

• Bands:
  VALDAUDR
• Duration: 00:39:04
• Available from: 06/12/2024
• Label:

• Soulseller Records

After the discreet debut in 2021 with the full-length “Drapsdalen”, the Norwegian duo Død and Vald returns with a proposal similar to the previous one, but this time a little richer and more inspired. We are in Norway, home of black metal and we talk about black metal here, despite our duo's current and past militancy in the deathster Blood Red Throne.
The black metal proposed by Valdaudr tries to be as close as possible to the original one of the early 90s: therefore, even on the new album, the reference to Darkthrone is evident, but the spirit of the first Satyricon also hovers and, in the few epic moments of the release, the nocturnal one by Ulver; Valdaudr doesn't mind dusting off a couple of clean guitar arpeggios or a few lines sung with clean vocals from time to time and they do it convincingly.
After the first introductory song it's up to “Den Moerke Tronen” to open the dance with a black'n'roll touch here too, if we want, in the Darkthrone style of the 2000s. Compared to the debut, however, it should be underlined that the band tries to be the as close as possible to the pure black metal style, significantly decreasing the parts linked to a rough thrash metal or the aforementioned black'n'roll cadenced passages, more in the foreground in the debut release.
With few ideas and very little originality, but a good dose of taste for music, we must admit that this work, with the passage of listening, acquires depth and little by little completely convinces the listener. Valdaudr manage to create an intriguing atmosphere with very little and give some moments, like “Herren Hoester Liv”, an old-fashioned touch that almost tastes like magic.
The songs are not very tight, except when necessary to get the piece off the ground, for the rest the midtempos run their course smoothly, sometimes enriched by simple melodies, other times by short arpeggios. If you really want to relive that magic of the early 90s, then a song like “De Som Fortaeres Av Lengsel” will catapult you back in time thanks to a couple of simple, catchy but effective black metal riffs.
The production is also better than in the past, here the barks of the vocals are put in the foreground compared to the music, a bit like they did in numerous releases of the time, but the sounds of the other instruments are all well calibrated and scratch vehemently .
A black metal riffing, basic but successful, is what supports “Tilgi Dem Ikke”, which can be taken as a symbolic song of Valdaudr: good music made with few ideas, but very clear and able to follow the score of classic black metal managing to produce a product with personality and dignity.
We'll see if this duo can grow further in the future.