Svarttjern - Towards the Ultimate (2011)

Hailing from Norway, today we have Svarttjern and their crushing second full-length release “Towards the Ultimate”. With nine tracks of hectic Black Metal with some Death Metal influences, Svarttjern delivers very powerful blows in each song and has no problems mixing melody into their aural assaults.

Featuring HansFyrste of Raganarok fame on vocals, Svarttjern will take you for a journey into the bowels of hell with very well crafted songs that do not get too repetitive as the album progresses. In the opener “Breathing Soil”, the band does not waste any time and delivers powerful guitar riffs, hyper-fast drums and hellish vocals. This song reminds us of the good years of Satyricon, and it will leave a great impression on you too.

With sick melodic riffing, “Hellig Jord” is a very well crafted song that will stick on your head for the rest of the day. HaaN and Fjellnord do a great job in crafting very Black Metal sounding riffs but in a melodic and clean way, never sounding very kvlt or any of that BS. Focused mainly on catchy riffs, “Superior Growth”, “Aroused self-extinction” and the chilling “I AM the Path part II”, these songs can rival any Gorgoroth or similar bands in terms of how well crafted and powerful the guitars sound.

In a more punishing matter, “Desolate Predictions” has to be our favorite song of this release since it is also the most Black Metal one of them all. This track reminds us a lot of the guitar driven Black Metal from Norway that was very popular back in the early 2000’s. The band closes the release with “Unmasked Violation of Life”, “Through Madness and Sanity I AM”, and “For What Blooms Without Lust”, these three tracks are very powerful and yet have exquisite melodic sections like on “For What Blooms Without Lust” around the one-minute mark.

If you want powerful Black Metal that is not all about being kvlt, checkout “Towards the Ultimate” you won’t regret it. The band’s sound is very well crafted and with catchy and powerful riffing paired with a pounding bass guitar line, they are also not for the weak of heart and soul. If you are a well crafted Black Metal fan, do yourself a favor and checkout this great release out on Agonia Records.

Release: September 25th (Europe) / October 25th (North America)

Country: Norway