The debut CD of Arckanum, the band of ex-Grotesque drummer Shamaatae. This one has been out for more than four years, so there's really no excuse for not having this release in your collection - this is damn impressive and a nearly flawless Black Metal album. Firstly, the song writing is simply great. Any idiot with a guitar can play Fast Raw Black Metal (tm), but Shamaatae knows what he's doing. No song gets boring anywhere, tempo shifts flow naturally, the songs are varied without being fragmentated or incoherent: speed is used effectively throughout the album, as well as more doomy slow sections, and midtempo 'crushing' tempi manage to keep the whole album highly interesting and immersive. Furthermore, the whole concept of "Trollish Black Metal" works, it all flows so well and the forest sounds fit so seamlessly into the whole experience that the thought "gimmick!" never manages to enter your mind.

Peter Tätgren did the production (Abyss studios), and it shows. Don't expect the Swedish BM-o-matic sound (Marduk/Setherial/Dark Funeral/ etc) though, this is way better. The guitar sound is very thick, raw and bassy, the bass is clearly audible (!) but the whole thing is founded upon Shamaatae's impressive drumming. This is one of the high points of the album; though not flashy or extremely fast, it's varied and powerful, and has that intangible 'larger than life' feeling. A shining example for bands - this is how you should drum Black Metal. And perhaps surprisingly for some: NO KEYBOARDS. All of the atmosphere is created by the guitar/bass/drums/vocals combo here, and it's damn effective too. To top it off, Shamaatae's vocals are vile as fuck. He has this unique echoed trollish snarl that is instantly recognizable as well as hugely charismatic. Occasionally you get some nicely done clean vocals/chants (by Shamaatae, Sataros, Peter Tätgren and Lena Klarström), but the emphasis is clearly on the snarled vocals.

Highlights of "Fran Marder" are the opening track "Hvila Pa Tronan Min", "Svinna", "Trulmælder" and "Kolin Væruld" - but I could easily name any track, because there are no weak songs on this album. 49 minutes of pure trollish mayhem. Overall, the feeling Arckanum conveys is a ritualistic, very pagan form of escapism. "Fran Marder" is not from this world - it is a constructive effort to build a new (or recreate an ancient) mystical world of trolls, forests, lakes, mountains, hymns, mist, darkness, coldness and hate.

© 1999 sybren