lukretion After more than 25 years of listening to heavy metal, I’ve come to realize that the quintessential characteristic that attracts me so strongly to our beloved music is the exquisite blend of power and melancholy that emerges from the notes of many classic records in this genre. Melancholy to speak to the predicament of our human condition and power to give us the glimmers of hope that keep us going. And although many albums build on these foundations, only a few truly manage to master the balance between these two contrasting states, inevitably finding their place in the top echelons of my musical collection. This long premise is to say that it has been a long time since a metal album has moved me and engrossed me so much as Mørkere (“Darker” in Norwegian), the debut LP of Norwegian black metallers Dold Vorde Ens Navn. What’s even more remarkable is that black metal is not exactly the brand of metal that I am very big on. Quite the contrary, only about 15%-20% of the records in my collection are black metal related (mostly avant-garde or symphonic black metal), the bulk of it is instead made up of various guises of progressive metal. And yet, Mørkere has a real chance to become my top album of 2021. Let me tell you why.

Truth be told, the progressive credentials of the Norwegians are not exactly nil. The band was put together by old friends Haavard Jørgensen (guitars) and Kai S. “Cerberus” Halvorsen (bass), who some may remember in the mid-90s line-ups of bands like Ulver, Satyricon and Dødheimsgard. Dold Vorde Ens Navn’s line-up is completed by drummer Øyvind Myrvoll (Nidingr, Dødheimsgard) and singer Yusaf “Vicotnik” Parvez, who is also a member of Dødheimsgard and who has sung on one of the hidden gems of avant-garde black metal, Ved Buens Ende’s Written in Waters. These credentials alone should demand immediate attention from fans of the second wave of Norwegian black metal, but Mørkere truly exceeds expectations and manages to captivate even those who, like me, are only marginally partial to the genre. Its eight songs are a perfect blend of 90s black metal, Viking epicness, cinematic atmospheres, sophisticated arrangements, and gorgeous melodies imbued of dark melancholy.

The music ebbs and flows between these various influences, running the full gamut from ferocious black metal assault to delicate passages with acoustic guitars and strings (viola, violin and cello). The songs mostly stay in a mid-tempo range, which is the ideal breeding ground for music that is both powerful and melancholic, but there are also occasional accelerations and passages with blast beats. The song structure is loose and fluid, without too obvious verse/chorus repetitions, although some of the melodies do return in the course of some songs. Each track has its own distinctive flavour, pushing to the fore one of the many influences that Dold Vorde Ens Navn weave into this album. Some songs, like “Det falt et lys i min mørke krok” and “Determinismens paradox”, venture in progressive territories, indulging in tourbillions of ever-changing guitar riffs and tempo shifts across their duration. Elsewhere, the band’s avant-garde heritage takes center stage, with classy orchestral flourishes (“Er det måneskinn”), sombre acoustic passages (“Det falt et lys i min mørke krok”), and histrionic clean vocals that bring to mind bands like Arcturus and mid-period Ulver. Meanwhile, “Ensomhetens rytter” sharpens Dold Vorde Ens Navn’s black metal credentials, offering the most ferocious instalment of the record, while the doomy “Syke hjerter” makes for a fittingly sombre album curtain call.

The music on Mørkere revolves around Haavard’s guitar riffs, which are HUGE. Massively inspired and ever-so-tasteful, the guitars are icy and razor-sharp as in the best black metal tradition, but also exquisitely melodic and poignant. There is a lot of variety in Haavard’s playing too. There are acoustic passages that bring to mind Ulver’s early catalogue, and majestic and epic leads that hark back to the Viking metal tradition (Enslaved). It’s not all looking backwards, though. The guitarwork is fresh and modern, as it brings in a distinctive post-rock / post-metal flair that made me repeatedly jot down “Sólstafir” in my notes. Honestly, I have not heard such a varied and inspired guitarwork on an extreme metal album in a very long time. Vicotnik’s vocals also deserve special mention. His performance is astonishing and extremely well-rounded. His cleans are theatrical and dramatic, as he modulates his tone and phrasing from song to song to always achieve maximal emotional impact. His growls are equally expressive and vary between grim black snarls and lower-range barks, offering plenty of goosebumps moments. The singing in Norwegian is very fitting too as it adds a touch of mystique to what is already a very emotive performance. The other two band members, Cerberus and Myrvoll, offer a more restrained but not less impressive performance that is essential to provide a solid backbone to the music.

There is so much variety, dynamics and subtlety in this album that the 46 minutes of Mørkere flow away in a heartbeat. There are truly no weak tracks, all songs being incredibly inspired and brilliant. “Det falt et lys i min mørke krok” is perhaps a tad disjointed as the transition between its acoustic beginning and the heavier second-half is slightly abrupt, while “Ensomhetens rytter” is somewhat too plain, making it possibly the least impressive track of the record. But these are truly minor grievances. The truth is that, when I put on Mørkere, I just can’t get enough of it and I can spend the entire day listening on repeat to the whole album.

This is because Mørkere is one of those rare records that work on multiple levels. It has immediate appeal, with its slabs of melancholic melodies and powerful aggression. At the same time, the songs are very diverse and the arrangements exquisitely multi-layered, inviting repeated listens as it takes time for all the different influences, moods and atmospheres of the album to properly sink in. With each new listen, new subtleties are discovered, as the melodies keep etching their way into our cerebral cortex, adding to the addictive nature of the album material. After only a few listens, I was hooked. My guess is that, if you like any of the bands mentioned in this review or 90s black metal in general, you will be too. Check out this album because it will be hard to find something that beats its intensity and emotional depth this year. Yes, it is THAT good.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]