SVARTSYN — Wrath Upon the Earth (review)

SVARTSYN — Wrath Upon the Earth album cover Album · 2011 · Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Vehemency
While Svartsyn’s 2007 effort revolved around atmospheric passages where relatively odd time signatures (for black metal) were repetitive and hence easier to digest, the band’s sixth full-length Wrath Upon the Earth has little twists and turns in every corner. This, plus the generally faster tempo, makes Wrath Upon the Earth a more challenging record, but in its technicality also a little less interesting effort: the album is pretty much a blast fest throughout - in the vein of 1349 - with minimum dynamic range, other than the little technical tricks.

That is not to say that the album is bad at all: Wrath Upon the Earth is a mammoth, both compositionally and sound-wise. The bursts of speed are powerful in the massive production, a production that also has its glitches, though: the mixing of drums could do better because the individual drums, such as toms, sound really apart from each other. When toms and certain symbals are hit, they sound like they are coming from somewhere else, making it all sound a bit messy. (This is just a little detail that a drummer, yours truly, found a little harassing in the production, and I can assure you that it’s nothing too severe.)

Due to the static nature of the compositions, it’s hard to pick up standout moments from the 36-minute whole. This is one of the album’s problems, even if the album is worth hearing for the devilish, monstrous atmosphere alone. At times, the seemingly constant blast beat is trance-inducing and there are moments of slightly slower tempo, too (”Dawn of Triumph, ”Blood Temple”), to not dull the listener. The music retains the strictly evil morbidity from the beginning to the end, and I find myself exhausted after the album, which is a good sign.

For fans of Svartsyn’s back catalogue, Wrath Upon the Earth might be a disappointment due to its compressed sound and ultimate speed. Nonetheless, the album is rather well done and deserves a positive rating - the impressive cover art even more points. I could see myself giving this album spins every now and then in the future, most certainly.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed