Vafurlogi - Gneisti af eldi Guðs (2026) Review

We're no strangers to the glory of the Icelandic black scene, which has always aimed for production of music with ever-present ferocity, and continental significance. Most of the bands active during the previous decade dominated my playlists of favorites, some of which I still consider recordings or such magnitude that elevates the whole genre. 

One could argue that one of the perpetrators of the movement was Svartidauði with their earliest demos in the mid 00s, then continued by numerous impressive bands, such as Sinmara and their 2014 debut, Aphotic Womb, as well as the more well-rounded continuation, Hvísl stjarnanna (2019).

S​ó​l án varma - S​ó​l án varma (2023) Review

A collective of numerous infamous individuals from Iceland has been formed under the moniker S​ó​l án varma (= sun without radiance), which, even though it has been active since 2023, it's just now that a first full work comes to fruition. It is fully worthy of the label "full" as this self-titled record has a drawn out, stretched duration of 1 hour and 7 minutes, with 12 tracks, making it quite a piece to listen to and automatically placing it at the territory of albums that require longer attention span than your average extreme metal album. 

As always, the aesthetics are overwhelmingly beautiful and the production is not simply ideal, but characterizes the dreary and thrilling epicness of Icelandic black metal, especially coming from these musicians. All the tracks are titled with the same word "Afbrigði" and follow Latin numbering, containing exceptional lyricism in the band's native language. The juiciest part of S​ó​l án varma is the compositions themselves, though, which exert terrific potency once the record builds up its pace and establishes itself. 

It actually starts slowly, with the first 2 pieces being long and featuring tense dark ambient / noise meandering, in between some sparse distorted guitar sections (even though, when the pummeling riffs in the middle of "Afbrigði II" kick in, they stamp an immediate album highlight). Then, S​ó​l án varma spreads its winds and covers the sky by its massive presence, coming in the form of apparently ridiculous inspiration from the band to create this material. 

The clearest sibling is Misþyrming, with D.G. being a founder and main songwriter, as his characteristic top-notch vocals crowning the instrumentation. "Afbrigði V" even closes with growing momentum the same way as the aforementioned band's track "Orgia", with a riff that is almost the same. The opener "Afbrigði I", as well as "Afbrigði IX" & "Afbrigði X", hit more slowly, while the introduction of "Afbrigði XI" almost gives out chills of the same kind as Deathspell Omega's last record The Long Defeat from last year. 

Anyhow, simply put, this record is a packed masterpiece. The sequence from "Afbrigði IV" to "Afbrigði VII" includes the most compelling and most captivating black metal of the year so far. But even apart from that, there's memorable melodies and moments throughout the whole span of this generally lengthy record, which manages not to fall under its towering duration. There's so much in S​ó​l án varma, and all of the best kind of Icelandic black metal, which right now equates to the best kind of black metal as a whole. 

Out on April 7th, 2023 | Ván Records

DAMAGE: 4.5/5 [Brilliant]

Sinmara - Aphotic Womb (2014) Review

In 2012, I had made an order to a local underground label containing various goodies, yet one of the tapes that I had asked was actually not available anymore and the owner, took the liberty to include something else of his own as a gift. When we talked, he mentioned this swap of items and expressed his curiosity on my opinion after I open the package. Back then, I bought albums as frequently as I do now, which is not frequently at all so I was quite meticulous with my picks and where my pocket money were going, yet I trusted this distributor and his work in the scene around my area.

And while I cannot recall the complete order, I do remember the extra gift tape was the debut EP by an upcoming band from Iceland named Chao, a release that had already been taken care off by Terratur Possessions, a label I was fascinated with at the time. The name of the mini-album was Spiritus Sankti, it featured three tracks and merely twenty minutes of music,  presenting an ambitious band with intrinsic potential that made me stick to the material of the tape for quite some time. The Icelandic black metal scene had not yet exploded worldwide at that time and the only similar album in my knowledge was Svartidauði‘s debut Flesh Cathedral, a to-be-considered classic record I had acquired from the same distributor.

Two years later, Sinmara left a serious mark by releasing their aggressive debut Aphotic Womb, which made it impossible for me to miss it as it was completely within my musical demographics and absorbed one positive review after the next from all around the internet realm. I didn’t realize maybe until 2015 or so that this band was actually the well-reformed progression of the young band Chao I had discovered almost by accident two years ago, who, along with changing their name, had grown and improved their craft all across the board. Only a handful of albums I have listened to whole on repeat so much like I have done with Aphotic Womb, more because of how violent and pleasing it is, than perfect.

I maintain a belief that instrumentals and interludes in albums can tell a lot about a band’s mindset despite taking up a small portion of the total content, and the two instrumentals in Aphotic Womb are totally dominating. The opener “Katabasis” is a proper rocker with some distinctive riffing, as is “Stygian Voyage”, where more melodic passages are employed and a more noise / dark ambient part towards the end, but thankfully Sinmara don’t rely on that.

After the introduction and when “Cursed Salvation” kick starts, the record’s heavy atmosphere takes control completely. The band unleashes a load of menacing guitar lines, played in fast tempos but showcasing eerie melodies that flourish above the intensity of the compositions and the harsh, raspy vocals. Aphotic Womb‘s flow is nearly perfect, just the sequence of “Cursed Salvation” to “Verminous” and then “Shattered Pillars” is impressive to say the least, and has many of the album’s highlights. From the outstanding drumming in “Verminous”, to maybe one of the most memorable black metal guitar riffs I have ever heard in the introduction of “Shattered Pillars”, Sinmara had carefully forged this masterpiece to be poisonous no matter where you touch it from.

They were also pretty comfortable in writing as long of a track as they wanted to, with the last and longest piece “Mountains of Quivering Bones” being another potent highlight. It is hard to find a musically comparable record, maybe a way to describe Aphotic Womb, and part of the Icelandic sound, would be a distant bastardization of Deathspell Omega and modern Swedish black metal (bringing very slight notes of the latter in the ominous introduction of “Teratoid Crossbreed”), but it is impossible to relate to anything else accurately as this is, the personal sound of these musicians.

I finally bought Aphotic Womb, along with the second full length album of the band, Hvísl stjarnanna, at a gig I attended last year when I saw them live for the first time. The band delivered the strangling mayhem I wanted to experience that night, where the only words that came out of them apart from executing their setlist was the emphatic statement “We. Are. Sinmara” after everything had been set up for them. Needless to say how neat the package is with this jaw-dropping cover art, displaying some additional, awesome drawings and the brilliant lyrics of the album throughout the pages of the booklet.

By now, this scene has took off and achieved high popularity around the world and outside of the underground, after the outbreak of Misþyrming and their debut in 2015, but they are not the only band in these ranks. Sinmara are definitely one of the most interesting acts out of the country and a fine example of heavy loaded, pompous black metal that looks as high up as possible. Go through the album in its totality, there isn’t a single track to spare, and that’s the case with the band’s rest of discography too.

Listen to Aphotic Womb:

Helrunar & Árstíðir Lífsins - Fragments - A Mythological Excavation (Split, 2013) Review

Helrunar & Árstíðir Lífsins "Fragments - A Mythological Excavation"

Summer 2013, Ván Records/Prophecy Productions

Physical Needs

Helrunar and Árstíðir Lífsins not only share a common member, the singer, but also recount stories and events of similar themes, like nature, paganism and mythology. It has been a couple of years since we have last heard of each band, so a new anything is pleasing, let alone a split that contains new material from both bands. The release is also a collaboration between each band's label, Ván Records and Prophecy Productions. These labels are selective when it comes to band signing and that is the reason they only have amazing bands in their rosters.

The music of an album is not the only aspect that describes its quality, especially in metal, thats why most of the fans seek the ideology or concept of the bands they like and never stay for the music and only. As the title explains, this split is indeed a mythological excavation, that makes it even more beautiful, when one knows what the bands are referring to. The artists here have taken a small bit of the Greek and Scandinavian mythology and recite it in their own unique way. I was already familiar with the Greek tale (we have been taught the specific story at school) but had to search for the other one, which was also notably interesting.

Helrunar's subject is a part of the Homeric Tales, two capacious poems called "Odyssey" and "Iliad", counting 12221 and 15692 lines each, respectively. The specific incident they describe here is taken from Odyssey, which describes the journey of the hero Odysseus as he tries to return home, but faces all kinds of obstacles, since he is hated by the Gods for some of his past actions. At that point, he is trapped in a cave of an one-eyed giant with his crewmates, that keeps them there and eats one every day. Odysseus decides to offer wine to the giant, he drinks it and loves it. A while after, he is dazed by the sweet nectar and falls asleep, and then he is pierced through his only eye with a giant spear. He wakes up screaming and blind, Odysseus and the rest of the party grab the giant's sheep and stay under them while they move out of the cave, and that's how they escape. The giant's name was Cyclops or Polyphemus and the song title can be translated as "Wine for Polyphemus".

Árstíðir Lífsins take us to a different time and different location, way norther to Scandinavia. Their musical composition is strongly influenced by a poem called "Vafþrúðnismál" (and i have no idea how to pronounce it), part of a collection of Old Norse poems with the name "The Poetic Edda". In that poem, Odin asks Frigg whether to go at Vafþrúðnir's hall or not, and he is adviced against the idea, since Vafþrúðnir is a very fierce giant. Despite that, Odin heads for the hall and there plays the game of wisdom contest with the giant, which ends up to be a win-or-die competition. In the end, Odin asks a question that only he knows the answer, what did Odin say to Baldr's ear before his placement to the funerary ship. That is when Vafþrúðnir finds out about the identity of his opponent, and admits defeat.

Having read about all these, i went into the music itself. Helrunar hired the greek singer Hildr Valkyrie for additional vocals, specifically the chants that can be heard at the beginning and ending of the song. There is an ode close to the greek rhapsody style with the actual lines of Homer in ancient Greek, even though the band is from Germany, they managed to pronounce the words almost perfectly. After this three minute introduction, there is a mysterious melody with a clean/acoustic guitar, that opens the way to Helrunar's destructive black metal. It explodes with powerful riffs and vocals, fast paced drums and an awesome sound. There is more clean vocal narrating in between the intense moments of the track, that varies melodies throughout its fifteen minute length. Not tiring at all and very well crafted it is, it had me hooked the whole time. It finishes as silently and elegantly as it starts, with the voice of Hildr Valkyrie and pounding waves as a background.

The second and final track by Árstíðir Lífsins lasts nineteen minutes and it is about as flawless as the first. Their lyrics are fully Icelandic, and after a calm intro begins a monologue with deep clean vocals. As it continues, the instruments embrace the voice and lead the way to tremendous screams and howls. The track contains multiple violins, cellos, choirs, keyboards and acoustic moments, as the band consists of many people that commit themselves to each instrument. Transferring the song in its mother language leaves it unspoiled and even though I don’t understand the meaning without translation, it does have its own potent vibe. Due to the variety of instruments and singers, it is more musically enriched than Helrunar’s track, even though both tracks are remarkably good. It closes with a three minute melancholic outro, almost nostalgic of a long forgotten era of swords, magic and paganism. Árstíðir Lífsins have constructed a great atmosphere that is present during the whole synthesis, making it of grand musical merit.

Definitely one of the best albums I’ve heard this year, both for the music and the subject. Helrunar’s approach aimed straight to my heart, for the great story they chose to represent and their support to my country, whereas Árstíðir Lífsins dominated the second part of the listen with one of the most amazing songs of that length that I have heard lately, since Agalloch’s Faustian Echoes. This split is overwhelming.

Fuck materialism.

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DAMAGE: 10/10

Chao - Spiritus Sankti (EP, 2012) Review

Chao "Spiritus Sankti"

Spring 2012, Terratur Possessions

Listening Needs

I got this as a gift, a neat red tape with a simple one side booklet. CDs, tapes and vinyls, when their package has been well taken care of, are like musical jewelery. You keep them at a safe place, you spend some minutes just looking at them now and then, it feels great when you use them. Instead of wearing them, you listen to them.

Chao originate from one of the steady and low profile countries when it comes to metal, Iceland. I don't know if you have ever listened to a band from there, be sure to do so though, seldom will one find a lame band from these distant cold lands. This is the debut EP and they are working on their first full length too, as we speak. I decided to check this because it was released on Terratur Possessions, which is a solid label to me, all the bands promoted from there are of quality and talent. I was looking for an obnoxious, inhumane band and i found it.

The record consists of three tracks, timing from six to eight minutes each. They have been constructed to defend the once glorious but now almost humiliated ideals of black metal, aiming to keep the compositional part as innocent and pure as possible. Using the various riff patterns like pieces of a puzzle, they have pieced together an amazing body of guitar work, with lots of variations during each track. The immense production of the sound makes them sound even more unworldly, something that pleases the ear of an aware listener very much. Imagine this as a looming presence somewhere inside the modern urban nothingness. I can't find any source for the lyrics (neither the booklet has them) but the EP gives me a feeling of despair coming from the every day life's depletion (like Leviathan for example) and less from the inside or a desolate location.

There are some clean yells and samples used in the songs. Strictly and carefully placed, they add their bit of misery on the album. There is also a church bell in the second track, quite enjoyable moment, i have to say. Entitled with simplistic and direct titles, it gives away the attitude of the band right away. "Darkness Liberates", the last track of the EP, is the best part to me. With a somber title that incurs and is common among many blacksters' minds maybe, it is a wonderful song that makes a perfect ending. 

This release verges on the orthodox style, so if you enjoy bands like Ofermod, Ondskapt or similar, you will like this as well. It is a promising first offering and im definitely after new stuff by them.

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DAMAGE: [8.0/10]