Band:	Skogen
Album:	Svítjod
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	April 2011

01. Dighra Dödh
02. Häxsabbat (Crimen Laesae Divinae Maiestatis)
03. Midnattens Glimrande Stillhet
04. Begraven [feat. Peter Lindstrom]
05. Vinterriket [feat. Peter Lindstrom]
06. Storm
07. Natthymn
08. Blodörnshämnd
09. Dauðaferð
10. Svítjod

Skogen, another Swedish black metal band signed to Frostscald Records, released their debut back in 2009 without much of a bang. Having been described as a "more relaxed cross between Primordial and Moonsorrow", you'd think they'd have more of a following.

Well maybe we just didn't name-drop enough. How about I throw out names like... oh, I don't know, Drautran? Agalloch? Wodensthrone? Kampfar? Maybe the comparison game will give them another chance at "stardom".

Anyway, the music. It's actually pretty damn awesome. The vocals are incredibly spiteful, the overall mood is rather depressive, and the instrumentation is top-notch. These guys don't add anything new to the genre (best described as pagan black metal) but they do the style justice, incorporating a wide variety of acoustic guitar interplay with beautiful haunting melodies. It's no surprise this work is dedicated to fallen comrade Jens Norberg, as a feeling of sorrow pervades the entire album. Songs such as "Midnattens Glimrande Stillhet" and the 11-minute epic "Vinterriket" both do a wonderful job of evoking a strong sense of remorse, and the beautiful piano instrumental ("Dauðaferð") helps calm the listener down after a barrage of negative emotions.

That's not to say this is something non-metal, like a shoegaze or neofolk release. It's still firmly rooted in the soils of black metal, it just happens to be the somewhat ethereal, epic, melodic, atmospheric kind. The "pagan" aspect can be attributed primarily to the clean chants and acoustic passages, which are both executed to perfection here. But there is a bit of an issue with all of this: consistency. This album comes off as something more or less comprised of two completely separate recordings, which is likely due to - as the band puts it - the sporadic recording that took place for over a year.

If you can get past the lengthy tracks, are in the mood for beautifully constructed somber black metal epics, enjoy acoustic solos, dig piano tracks, don't mind clean chants, and love yourself some truly depressive atmosphere: This is the album for you. It will likely disappoint those who are in search of something more direct and aggressive, however.