Vyrju – Black (2014)

Today we have the one-man battalion Vyrju and its debut EP release titled “Black”. Hailing from Norway, this outfit delivers four tracks and around 22 minutes of catchy and sludgy/doomy Black Metal. With a great emphasis on crushing riffs and demoralizing shrieks, this release is a short but sweet one for fans of the genre.

Opening with the catchiness of “The Constant Void”, we get a Satyricon-esque vibe with Sludge/Doom elements thrown into the mix. This song has good dosage of Black Metal influences thrown into the mix, making it quite engaging and entertaining.  As a personal favorite “There is no Grave Big Enough to take all my Sorrows”, this track is quite hypotonic and perfectly crafted with the graceful clean vocals of Tim Yatras who plays drums and clean vocals as a session member.

After the bleak mood setting track “Gone”, this release is closed with the melancholic riffs of “The Residue of Life”. With this direction, the Vyrju sounds a lot more like Austere, Agrypne and Harakiri for the Sky”, a direction we are quite excited to hear them take into the future. Overall, “Black” is one very solid release for fans of more interesting and diverse Black Metal. If you enjoy most of the newer wave of melancholic/depressive Black Metal, this is one release you can’t miss.

Label: Black Forest Records

Release: December 1st, 2014

Genre: Doom/Black Metal

Country: Norway