Supergroups can be a hit or miss and more often that we would like to admit, the levels of excitement when looking at a project’s line up doesn’t match the quality of the material itself. That was not the case for me with Høstsol, a Scandinavian band featuring some legendary figures from the black metal scene: Niklas Kvarforth of Shining, Cernunnus of Manes and Kalmos of Ajattara.
With Länge Leve Döden, the musicians write a love letter to the ways of the genre as it existed back in the early 90’s around their areas, but more than that is achieved. The production (mastered by Andy LaRocque of King Diamond) is clear and slightly more modern, there are sparse ambient interludes bridging different parts of tracks and the compositions clearly bear the mark of their creators, especially the exquisite style of Cernunnus. The band doesn’t leave any space for misinterpretation about the kind of nostalgia they evoke, for example with the second and best track “Det som en gång var (det kommer aldrig igen)”, a clear reference to the early Burzum album title with an extra addition: “it will never come again”.
Kvarforth’s vocals have a slightly higher pitch, more shrieked and painful than the anger-infused singing he does for Shining, and it works perfectly in the album. It consists of five tracks, and some slower-paced, emotive lines can be found in its opening and closing, while for the most of it, Länge Leve Döden is fast but doesn’t abuse tremolo picking. If you are a fan of the early works of Manes and bands of that time like Thorns, then the authenticity and acuteness of this release will move you. It is the perfect combination of all the aforementioned bands, executed by members of the scene that have been around from the first days and even 30 years later, it seems they are no short of inspiration.
Points that you will love in Länge Leve Döden are the magnificent guitar riffs, the excellent vocals, the ambient passages and the amount of sentiment it is charged with, with a rather simple title statement that is also aligned with the roots of black metal: long live death.
DAMAGE: 3.75/5
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