Angst Skvadron – Sweet Poison (2010)

Once in a while we get a CD that we have to listen more than a few times in order to determine what the hell is going on!. Arriving from Agonia Records we got “Sweet Poison” by the Norwegian outfit named Angst Skvadron formed by T. Nefas, better known by his work with Urgehal.

At a first glance you would imagine this album came straight out of an alien horror movie. But after a few more listens you are able to detect what could be considered either pure genius or just a demented release from somebody that has huffed too much paint. We believe is the later, since “Sweet Poison” has gained a very special spot in our ‘weird avant-garde stuff’ play list that includes releases by Arcturus, Ulver and Solefald, just to name a few.

The album starts with a more traditional Black/Death Metal sound, but it still features very interesting elements that let you know you are in for an un-traditional album. The haunting female vocals near the 3 minute mark of the track are just downright creepy. The second track is also pretty straight forward until reaching the end of it, and after that much of the album it’s all a downward spiral into the unique world of Angst Skvadron.

The whole atmosphere created for this album is a rich palette of bizarre sounds, haunting female vocals, piano lines, and clean passages that will make your skin shiver. I haven’t heard an album that evoked this feeling in quite a while and Angst Skvadron excels at this.

A song to take a note is “The U.F.O Is Leaving”, a very eerie and interesting simple song that is very haunting and creepy, perfect for when you are laying in bed on a cold winter night. This song and the reminder of the album from this point reminded me of Arcturus before they called it quits.

I won’t ruin this album anymore for you, since I think it’s an experience that you have to live through so you can make up your own idea about the musical genius of the band. But in overall “Sweet Poision” is a great album that will please all fans of the bizarre, experimental, psychedelic or just plain weird Metal. It creates truly bizarre atmospheres and provides the listener with a chaotic acid trip. I will surely treasure this CD unlike many that I’ve encountered during the years.

Release: February 8th, 2010

Country: Norway