ULVEGR - Vargkult

Release date January 30/18 (Ashen Dominion)

When a band issues a follow-up album less than a year later it usually sends the signal to expect more-of-the-same. However, Ukraine's Ulvegr buck expectations on this, their fifth full-length release. Whereas their April/17 Titahion: Kaos Manifest platter included many quasi-Egyptian themed soundscapes creating an exotic take on black metal, their Vargkult album provides a much more raw, unpolished version of the form.

Opener 'Rune Ice Frozen Hatred' goes straight to the land of Marduk with a high pitched, repetitive guitar line acting as strafing cross-fire repelling those who don't crave such blackness. Throat-tearing gurgle vocals add to the cacophony, creating a vision of swirling dive-bombers ceaselessly delivering death overhead. Some may say that this is simply monotonous, anti-musical noise, but for those ears attuned to this style of mayhem it is epic in its destructiveness. Think of this as the band's Panzer Division Ulvegr. If you were looking for a modicum of melody or respite, Vargkult is definitely not for you.

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