This time of year, the weather outside is truly frightful. No, not like the old song says, kind of the opposite: hot, humid and gross.
If you find yourself longing for a cold breeze, surrounded by mountains that take you back to the time of the old gods, then Norway’s Svadilfare has the album to take you there. The band takes its name from Svaðilfari, the horse who, according to Snorri Sturluson’s Edda (prose or poetic), fathered Sleipnir – the horse rode by Odin himself.
The first noticeable thing about the album is Svadilfare’s picture-perfect distortion sound: raw and straightforward, but still full and powerful (think of the sound Blodsrit captured on Helveteshymner). Additionally, the tempo of the music is well-balanced in that it doesn’t bash you over the head with too many blastbeats or lull you to sleep with “atmospheric” flowing sounds. Finally, there are the clean vocals, which are tasteful and applied in a way that gives the album a genuinely epic – rather than cheesy.
Check out “Hordalands Skimmer” below and hear for yourself. The album comes out tomorrow via Naturmacht Productions.
Stay cold*.
