Ratïng: 8/10
Release: 15 November 2023
Label: Independent

The fifth chapter of the Swedish dirty swamp was released right before the end of 2023 by the speakers of the haunted, scary house of Bergsvriden. Musically, it configures as a pleasant surprise to black metal fans of all lands, while a closer look reveals the folkier parts, this time in the form of the hidden stories of witches and spirits, for which I beg the band to please publish all of their lyrics somewhere, which would make all their works 20 times more enjoyable (and it also would give us the chance to scream the songs while walking on our own forests, hahaha). Luckily, they are providing us with a couple of explanations of some of their songs on Facebook.

The common recipe is delivered here. The current work is made up of an instrumental (here more in the role of an introduction, rather than an outro), with two non-acoustic songs: now multiply by two, and you get the six-song EP. “Vi Kallar På” takes you immediately to the depths of the forest, while “Strandvaskaren” grows through a 3/4, swingy rhythm before getting slightly scarier near the half, thanks to the rough voices of singer Anton “Trollmania” Tordås. Simple but effective things for now (and I’m sure, Trollmania wrote that… Illdåd’s influences are loud and clear, surely in a positive meaning).

The true horror starts at track three with “Gråterskan”, where the atmosphere gets darker, but what’s even more remarkable here is the fusion between black metal and a sort of oneiric, dreamlike sensation of the music… A female soprano voice appears in the middle of the song between all the male screams: it’s probably the voice of a fallen maiden, walking through the path of her long-lost life: now she walks near her similar spirits and cries upon all their graves.

A minute-long acoustic track with a short melodic lick and a soft accordion background, introduces us to the “witch of the Hulta forest”, raging “at a furious speed” through the listener’s headphones. The song likely sums up the two musical aspects of the band’s sound; now with sharp, fast, guitar riffs, then with catchy 3/4 rhythms that will make you stomp around. At last, the EP ends with “Som genom ett trollslag”: a rather simple, typical song that checks all the right boxes for a black metal track.

Despite being totally independent since their very first creation, Bergsvriden has always brought us quality releases without major flaws, for which I believe the “unknownness” shall not be a problem anymore as long as a band copes with its creation’s standards.

Tracklist

1. Vi kallar på 01:36
2. Strandvaskaren 04:02
3. Gråterskan 03:31
4. Rådavisan 01:07
5. Hultaskogens häxa 02:34
6. Som genom ett trollslag 03:44