Label -Drakkar Productions
Release Date- 9th July 2021
Of all the genres in the metal world, Black Metal (BM) is arguably the one that is least accessible. Commonly people don’t like the production (the fact that it sounds like it was recorded underwater), or the frantic 100mph blast beats and howling shrieks for the best part of an hour.
Symphonic black metal, with its keys and violins blending in with the guitars and blast beats opened a door on this genre and made it more attractive. Bands like Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth & Emperor have made a very good career out of it and are up there with some of the biggest bands in metal, let alone BM. Take a song like ‘Progenies of the Great Apocalypse’ for example, it took a black metal template and made it more appealing. It added a different element to songs, breaking that barrier of intense, in your face wall of sound.
Ukranians Elderblood, have stripped back the symphonics on their latest album Achrony. The drums, guitars and bass do the heavy lifting, and they use the symphonic side more sparingly. That being said, when they are used, they are used to absolute perfection. Elderblood seem to have nailed the combination, thunderous blast beats, ripping guitars while pushing up through the mix are horns, keys and samples.
Vocally, the performance stands well and truly up there with some of the best. Snarling and spitting out the lyrics at times, other times sounding like Maniac on Mayhem’s ‘A Grand Declaration of War’, listen to the stunning ‘Life Eternal’ for example, the stand out track on the album.
The drumming is tight and sits perfectly in the mix, the double bass could be turned up a few notches but that’s just nit-picking. The guitars are simply brilliant, gut wrenching riffs with considered guitar leads sitting over the top and some delicious solos.
The second track ‘The Great Fire of Sacrifice’ opens up as if you were entering the gates of hell, ferocious, punishing and relentless. ‘Holy Plague’ is where the symphony comes into full force. The song opens with a James Bond like theme followed by harrowing vocals. The horns on it sound as if they are calling the cavalry to charge into battle and certainly gets the adrenaline flowing.
The grand finale on the album is ‘The New Testament’, one of the longer tracks on the album, with monk chanting similar to Batushka building the song with an unassuming drum beat into a slow head banging riff and vocals that make your throat hurt just listening to it. Saying they saved their best to last would not be fair and would do disservice to the rest of the album. Every track is a ripper on this, make no mistake.
Elderblood are on their third album and are growing with each release. Uncompromising Black Metal is the foundation of the album but, as stated previously, the sparingly used symphonies gives a welcome variation to the normal structure of most raw BM albums.
This album will be spun multiple times for the rest of the year and beyond as each listen gets better and better. If you are in any way a fan of the genre, do not sit on this!
9/10
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