Múspellsheimr - Ave Mund​-​Spilli

Release: August 12th, 2021

Genre: Black Metal

Origin: Sweden

Label: Self-released

Listen: Bandcamp

A couple of months ago, I listened to the first demo by a new Swedish project named Forbidden Worship, a fairly promising forty minute work full of strong and well-recorded black metal that as a whole, could stand very well as a full length album as well. Now, the mastermind behind them comes around with another personal project, Múspellsheimr, and its debut full length release Ave Mund​-​Spilli, which is actually shorter in duration than the Forbidden Worship demo, and also slightly different musically. 

Things are much rawer  than what we were briefly used to from this musician, yet the Scandinavian vein is quite strong in Ave Mund​-​Spilli, which maintains an ice-cold, masterfully made lo-fi sound that will not drown out the plethora of memorable riffs of the record. The tracks are unnamed, but I found myself hooked from the first two the last and each was more surprising than the last, since the intensity doesn't wear out as long as it progresses. I have often thought that it's too easy for a band to be pretentiously raw sounding with today's available home software, but Múspellsheimr don't fake it, there is a lot of energy and unique potential in Ave Mund​-​Spilli that makes it stand out.

It would be more difficult to keep your attention to the music if more moments were like the introduction of "III", a very typical kind of build up filler found in many bands, but you can be rewarded by the thunderous chaos that takes place after that particular song unfolds, which is also a highlight of Ave Mund​-​Spilli. That's how Múspellsheimr manages to save the day when it comes to a few instances of the music almost getting into filler territory, as the main parts of it are all of quite high quality black metal. I also loved the first and the fourth track, both having the type of guitar playing that reigns the Scandinavian territories and characterizes the genre, here executed neatly by Múspellsheimr.

While the demo of his other project was also notable, only now I am convinced that it was not a coincidence but the person behind these projects has a good grip on how to compose this music. Ave Mund​-​Spilli is an example of a fine album on the opposite side of clear productions, and it has something to say musically, which is in the end the most important aspect we are looking for. In a desert of bedroom sounding raw black metal bands with saturated black and white imagery, sitting under tons of dust, here is an oasis.

Damage: 4/5 [Excellent]