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Skogen - Vittra review



Reviewer:
7.5

23 users:
7.87
Band: Skogen
Album: Vittra
Release date: November 2009


01. Dimfärd
02. Skuggorna Kallar
03. Eld
04. Ur Mörkret Hon Kommer
05. Höst
06. Vålnaden
07. Skymning
08. Under Fullmånens Sken
09. I Skogens Djup

Skogen, which is apparently Swedish for 'forest', is a Black metal band. Duh. Vittra is their first full-length. Vittra is incidentally also the name of the debut album of their country mates Naglfar. I'll forever hold a grudge against Naglfar for stealing all of Nagelfar's thunder, but that's largely irrelevant for this review and not really true, so maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it and instead give Naglfar another shot. Yeah.

Why you'd give your album the exact same name as an album that was released fifteen years earlier by a much bigger band is absolutely beyond me. It's not like I'm going to release a funeral doom album ten years from now on and call it The Maniacal Vale, right? Ah well, no one should really care though, I just like bitching about inane details.

Vittra is good. It's 'Folk' Black metal, basically meaning it has a few acoustic sections, an 'epic' atmosphere and the occasional clean chant. And there are keyboards. Oh yes there are keyboards. They're ever-present, but luckily, they're usually very airy and mostly in the background. Dimmu take notes. Actually, come to think of it, the whole thing is pretty airy and, in a way, 'nice'. Of course it's still Black metal, there's the raspy throat-scream and the fast drumming and the distorted and dissonant riffs, but it's still pretty nice and gentle, in a way. Definitely not extreme. Folk Black metal usually annoys the living daylight out of me, but Skogen's Vittra is a-ok. It's not jumpy and gimmicky as most bands in the genre are, it's actually well-composed and easily accessible music. It's all not particularly breathtaking, but it's decent. It's a shame it's an album with great peaks - and a few very dull moments.

They're a calmer and more relaxed cross between Primordial and Moonsorrow with a couple of Drudkh-ish riffs thrown in, that's the best I can say with my limited knowledge of the subgenre. Those that have Lord Of The Rings-swords hanging on their wall and self-made 'bloody daggers' in their desk drawer, check it out.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 6
Production: 7





Written on 24.03.2010 by If you're interested in extreme, often emotional and underground music, check out my reviews. I retired from reviewing, but I really used to be into that stuff.


Comments

Comments: 3   Visited by: 66 users
25.03.2010 - 05:05
Marcus
Doit Like Bernie
Stuff on the Myspace is pretty solid although the acoustic parts are sort of hit or miss.
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25.03.2010 - 15:15
Uirapuru
Liver Failure
Bitching about minor details ftw! o/

Ill check it out for curiosity, cuz Im not really interested in Primordial-ish, Drudkh-ish stuff like I used to.
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member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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08.04.2012 - 09:59
Rating: 7
AngelofDeth
Cyborg Raptor
"Those that have Lord Of The Rings-swords hanging on their wall and self-made 'bloody daggers' in their desk drawer, check it out."

i just checked this out recently and i have a medieval sword on my wall and bowie knives in my desk drawers... oh and yes i enjoyed this album, though i would say Svitjod is superrior
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pewpew.. gotcha
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