Vanhelga – Höst (2012)

Delivering twelve hymns of Black Metal with Depresive Rock undertones, today we have Vanhelga and their second full-length release “Höst”. This two person outfit from Sweden consist of 145188 handling all the instruments and 1853 (ex-Lifelover) writing the lyrics, it is quite a mystery who actually handles the vocals in this release. With razor sharp riffs and melancholic melodies, the band delivers quite enjoyable passive aggressive Black Metal.

The opener “A Sinister Longing” is a very direct and pummeling track with powerful guitars and eerie vocals. The band’s rawness reminds us a bit of earlier Burzum, but with better vocals. There is an underlying melodic aspect to their music that starts surfacing more as you get into the remaining tracks of this release. “Lugn” and “Desperation” continue this release with mellow interludes and excellent harsh sections, bringing a perfect balance between the brutal and the depressive.

For people looking for experimental stuff, “Underbart Sant”, “Udda Tankar”, and “Armageddon” deliver quite cool atmospheric moments that are very interesting and nicely change the flow of the release. Tracks like “Overklighet”, “Pessimist”, and “Vilsen” are more direct and harsh in nature, but never missing an atmospheric edge that makes them very dramatic and quite effective in transmitting feelings of despair. Our favorite tracks in this release are the Post-Rock-ish “Sorg” and “Hopplös” and their intoxicating atmosphere surrounded by distorted guitars.

The album closes with “Livets Bitterhet”, another amazing track with a very depressive atmosphere perfectly created by the clean vocals and acoustic guitars. In general, “Höst” is quite an excellent release filled with melancholic moments and excellent raw Black Metal elements. Vanhelga does a great job in creating a very suppressive atmosphere that bleeds out of every single song in this release. We can’t recommend this enough for all fans of Livelover, Grey Waters, and similar acts.

Label: Art of Propaganda

Release: December 3rd, 2012

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Sweden