siLLy puPPy The medical term SJODOGG denotes a variant of the disease Anaplasmosis in sheep and goats. It is also called Granulocyte Ehrlichiosis and is a disease transmitted by the tick Ixodes ricinus. Anaplasmosis also attacks humans, cattle, horses, dogs, cats, deer and small rodents. And if that wasn’t wickedly freaky enough, happens to be the name adopted by a Norwegian progressive black metal band that has borrowed every trick in the book from France’s Deathspell Omega.

Formed as far back as 2003 in Oslo, SJODOGG released a series of demos from 2004-06 before launching its debut “Landscapes of Disease and Decadence” in 2008 followed by three more albums. This fourth full-length VANSKAPNING (malnutrition) was released in June 2020 and is the most progressive yet as the album features a single near 45-minute track that really makes you believe that this is the latest Deathspell Omega album as SJODOGG pretty much nails that band’s sound perfectly while adding few creative idiosyncrasies to make you believe otherwise.

Unlike France’s most famous Satanic theology band, SJODOGG remains an obscurity in the modern world existing deep in the extreme metal underground however this album has been incorporated into the Duplicate Records catalogue with a vinyl, CD and digital release. This band consists of four members: Vulnus (vocals), Dracunculus (guitars), Tetrapus (bass) and Hordeolum (drums). Norway was of course the leader for bringing the extreme shock values of second wave black metal to the world’s attention in the early 90s but somehow lost ground a bit in the 2000s when French bands seemed to take the black metal genre into more sophisticated arenas.

If SJODOGG is an indicator, it sounds as if Norway is now playing catchup as it has lost ground in the world of black metal as many of its pioneering acts have long moved on to other musical genres or hybrids of black metal. VANSKAPPING is uncanny in how perfectly it sounds like one of the Satanic Trilogy albums from Deathspell Omega. Bantering jangle guitars, atonal dissonance, long progressive sprawling motifs that drift and shift without warning, however it is the dead ringer vocal style of lead singer Vulnus that really makes this the ultimate clone band as he sounds EXACTLY like Mikka Aspa with that distinct raspiness and irresolute stylistic approach of semi-reciting / semi-screaming independent of the instrumentation. Even the creepy atmospheres take you into that DOS special place.

Like all such bands, i have mixed feelings about this one. From a delivery standpoint this album is flawless and had it come out some 20 years ago would have surely been catapulted to the top of the heap as a bonafide masterpiece but given that Deathspell Omega has already claimed the throne as top black metal dog in that respective world, this comes off as a cheap desperate attempt to cash in on an already taken stylistic approach. However make no doubt about it, even copying this brand of sophisticated extreme metal is an achievement all in its own so it’s hardly something that doesn’t have any redeeming value. In fact this album is quite excellent and does offer scant deviations from the DOS playbook even if they are minor (small electronica details and detours in motifs come to mind.)

When all is said and done, SJODOGG crafted a very intense and complex album with VANSKAPNING which is highly recommended for those who can’t get enough of Deathspell Omega and don’t mind an album that sounds like it came directly from their own demented minds. The too close for comfort derivative nature of SJODOGG is its weakest attribute however the performances here are extraordinary! If only this band could simply tweak the sound a bit to find their own sound it would go a long ways. True that black metal is a world of subtle differences where fans are forgiving and not overly concerned with creativity much of the time but even so this one is the black metal equivalent of Starcastle is you would consider DOS the black metal version of Yes. Oh well, still a great listen.