In short: Khold have managed to progress without actually doing anything radical at all. They have a heavier, denser sound, but still spacious enough to let the music breathe. The songs are a bit more complex this time, and still have those little surprises thrown in here and there, though they consist mostly of somewhat odd breaks, they are a welcome sight (does that also apply to what you hear?) amidst these simple yet effective riffs. Sometimes it might seem a little too simple, but it never becomes boring. Gard sings with conviction, and the lyrics are in Norwegian, and are truly Norwegian, they are cold and dark, and the one image I get inside my head is that ewach song could be a drawing by Kittelsen, even more so than for instance Burzum, whose music and imagery is so closely tied with Kittelsen. Eerie and outright damn creepy lyrics combined with crushing primitive black metal makes this album a winner.

© 2003 daoloth