Vehemency
Instead of proper uniqueness, it was the sheer power, agility and spirit that made Armagedda stand above the masses of other grim, cold black metal bands in the first half of 2000s, before the members went on with other projets, namely LIK and Lönndom. I Am captures the true essence of the band, these demo songs being recorded sometime in 2001 and 2002, so don’t get your hopes up too much, this isn’t new material at all. But previously unreleased and great material it is, anyhow.
Dusty lo-fi production backs up these four songs comprising elements of Darkthrone but with little twists and great musicianship of which Armagedda has always been known for. Bass guitar is non-existent: cold guitar riffs and melodies dominate the rehearsal-like atmosphere, drums slightly in the background, doing their job admirably, nonetheless. Songs span from 5 to 6 minutes so quite a lot of ideas are presented on the tracks, ”Den Skrivna Eskatologin”, ”De Vanhelgade” and ”Cold Eon” focusing more on malicious and catching riffs while the title track is filled with brooding melancholy.
As said, it’s the overall quality of performance that makes Armagedda so good, and this EP is no different. Armagedda fans should get their hands on this if they haven’t already. For a regular listener who isn’t so much into low fidelity black metal, I Am might leave him/her a bit unsatisfied because nothing out of the ordinary is to be found from this EP. A recommendable, forgotten piece of second wave old school black metal.