Band:	Bergraven
Album:	Till Makabert Väsen
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	June 2009

01. Drömmen Om Undergång
02. Fasa
03. Asketens Enda Prydnad
04. Hunger
05. Det Andra Liket
06. Jag Lever Djävul
07. I Timmen När Allt Är Över

A few months ago I was asked to do a review of Bergraven's Dödsvisioner. "A restrained version of Shining" was my judgement back then. Still, a band with potential. Till Makabert Väsen, the third album of Bergraven is out now and it is just in time for judgement day.

Opener "Drömmen Om Undergång" is mostly brooding Swedish spoken word alternated with dark riffs and howling screams. Is it just me or is the Swedish language perfect for this style of Black metal? Pär Gustafsson, sole member, sounds so evil-but-in-control with his deep, carefully articulated 'rolling' voice. His despaired screams lack a bit in power and pain, but his grand choir-esque vocals make up for that. The album continues and before we're near the end we've gone through reverbed plucking, anguished screams, more evil-fuelled riffs and more of Gustafsson's various demented antics. However - and it displeases me to say this – I still feel the music is restrained. It tries a bit too hard to come across as the music of someone mentally deranged, it just sounds a little too calculated for that. There's rarely any sense of real paralysing unpredictability as displayed on, for example, Diapsiquir's Virus STN.

What's still praise worthy about this album is the incredible range of vocal styles displayed and the ease with which all sorts of different guitar techniques are presented. Straight up riffing, intricate intermezzo's, squealing pinch harmonics, they're all aimed towards their unified goal: to show madness. But in the great variety lies the problem. Till Makabert Väsen can get too complex for it's own good, as the flow is at times greatly disturbed and certain passages sound a little too forced and fragmented.

All in all Till Makabert Väsen is a technically proficient album, which might be a little too complex for it's own good. There's still plenty to enjoy here though, but you might have to wade through the occasional odd bit. Still, a praise worthy attempt at composing, even if it is still not all it – in my mind – could have been. Until numero quattro, I presume?