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Ondskapt: Dödens evangelium
23/04/13 || The Duff
The more I try to get into the sub-genre of black metal, the more I realise it’s just not for me. I like the fancy stuff, the occasional classic outfit, but generally the old school variety that still seems to have a following to this day with bands re-releasing Darkthrone and Burzum albums repeatedly under different guises is very rarely something I can enjoy even when it comes to the aforementioned classics; those taking the sub-genre forward are more often than not too obscure to pursue – it needs to be the big names or else I’m lost. So, in honour of Ryan Samuel’s legendary “Recommend me some black metal” forum thread, I bring you a band that was mentioned a fair few times among other names more commonly known carrying the black metal flag such as Shining, Drudkh and Deathspell Omega.
So, yes, one thing I can say is that I take this kind of stuff far more to my bosoms than the epic, drawn out fare such as Wolves in the Throne Room, Fen or Agalloch; not unless you’re Enslaved will you make a dent in my cod-piece on such a front. The problem with Ondskapt is that they boast the same level of repetition to their music – the potentially insufferable kind a la Wolves in the Throne Room. Are the riffs any good, you ask? Well, much like Watain, I get a big Dissection vibe from this; not quite to the degree of Watain where they render their own sound close to obsolete despite killer riffing, but unfortunately, Ondskapt do not have the compositional knowledge of Nodtveidt by a long stretch or even Erik Danielsson and Co., they’re songwriting prowess seemingly a case of writing ev-hil ideas and jamming them out at rehearsal.
Having listened to this band’s debut, I can safely say that it isn’t until “Dödens…” that Ondskapt began crafting something of value; the debut takes the idea of repeating something for atmosphere to a whole different level, but the riffs are a very traditional assemblage of BM, dense chords rapidly strummed in true ‘breaking bricks together’ fashion. While this record might be on the repetitive side, I cannot deny that it has the value of evil-ness. Whether it is a classic record as the band’s label might suggest in its redistribution, I doubt very much; we have an average band giving nothing new, and while Watain might well be accused of treading the same path, at least the latter have an handful of great riffs, an awesome vocalist and know how to craft songs in place of strumming the same four chords together ad nauseam then playing a lead or two for variation.
It is a shame, there are hints of talent here, and the money has gone into producing something reputable while keeping that eerie, far-at-back-of-the-room atmosphere, but in the end I am very quick to tire of this.
- Information
- Released: 2005
- Label: Next Horizon Records
- Website: www.ondskapt.com
- Band
- Acerbus: vocals, guitars
- Fredric Gråby: guitars, vocals, bass
- Nabemih: drums, vocals
- S.B.: bass
- Tracklist
- 01. Djävulens ande
- 02. Feeding the Flames
- 03. Revelations of Another Time
- 04. Lord of All Unclean Spirits
- 05. Akilkarsa
- 06. I Kristi skugga
- 07. Fienden hungrar
- 08. Interlude
- 09. The Fires of Hell
- 10. Blessed by Demoniac Wrath
- 11. Beast of Death
- 12. Witch
