Vehemency
Vordr has always been an odd bird in the Finnish black metal scene - so odd that I never got really interested in it. But after getting my hands on the third Vordr full-length and listening to the music closely along with the lyrics, it did open my eyes more wider.
When compared to earlier works, this third album doesn’t differ much from them: over a dozen of short, fast, and almost punkish songs with high-pitched cleanish vocals that inevitably remind me of some young lunatic boy. Then there’s also some cowbell on ”A Slashing Chill” and lyrics based on sauna on ”Steam and Smoke”. But after multiple spins, it all starts to make sense: Vordr is something that doesn’t care about any certain codes that should be followed; yet still they play in underground, raw and evil black metal spirit and focus on northern and, especially, Finnish nature.
With 14 tracks of which most sound very similar to each other - as easily happens with songs that have only 2-4 different punky and thrashy riffs - this album tends to be dragging, and real highlights appear too infrequently. Fast riffs are fired all the time so that the album is not an easy piece and will undoubtedly sound tedious to many after the first song. Luckily I didn’t give up, because the album does offer some great moments if you give it some time. I still do think that Vordr managed to create a better whole on the 2009 EP with some more variation between tracks.