Skogen - I Döden - review
Skogen - I Döden - review
Tracklist
01. Vargher02. I Döden
03. När Himlen Svartnar
04. Solarvore
05. Livets Ruin
06. Griftenatt
07. Midvintergraven
08. Svartskogen
09. Sleep
A review by
Troy Killjoy April 15, 2014
This Swedish trio have a knack for songwriting. They don't indulge themselves too much even though most of their songs surpass the 7-minute mark, and they don't get too caught up with "trying" to build up a dark atmosphere. The fluid transition from beginning to end is about as natural as it gets, comparable to The Mantle by Agalloch. There are moments when you expect an acoustic breakdown or a blastbeat assault that never happens, but that's a minor fault in the grand scheme of things and doesn't take away from the overall quality of the album.
Words like "beautiful" and "epic" are often overused and thrown around when it comes to describing this kind of atmospheric metal, but I döden does its best to earn those compliments with some grandiose leads and melancholic backing choir-esque chants, not dissimilar to what they've done in the past. It's difficult to say whether or not this is the best Skogen release thus far, considering their sound has only been tampered with on a minuscule level, but it's certainly another quality album to add to the band's expanding discography.
Skogen have done a great job staying the course while also evolving their sound slightly, or at least while carving out their niche in the metal scene. This is far from the most original release you'll ever listen to, but I döden still retains the "beautiful" and "epic" qualities of its predecessors, taking the listener on an hour-long journey of mid-paced keyboard-laden dream-like atmospheric black metal. In other words, it's an easily digestible album that should please fans of Wodensthrone, Fen, and the legion of Cascadian and/or pagan black metal bands.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written on 15.04.2014 by
Written on 15.04.2014 by
I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for. Comments
Comments:
4
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Posts: 40071
Another 6/7 album which gets a way too high score here. Really this is a 7.3 at most since it's soooooooooo incredibebly standard.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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 Posts: 1703 |
Posts: 1703
I really liked Svitjod when it came out but their last album was pretty underwhelming. I appreciate the review Troy and I'll probably check it and see how it stacks up with Svitjod.
---- Coldgrits
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| Posts: 21306 |
Posts: 21306 Written by -DC-002- on 16.04.2014 at 01:30 Overall this is a slower album and each track takes a bit more time to build up momentum, but it still has most of the same elements that made Svitjod what it is. My only real complaint is that it's a bit too scaled back in the extremity department (hence the 8 and not a higher score) but depending on my mood I might actually prefer I doden at times.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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Posts: 702  |
Posts: 702
^^^ this... also, the recording could bit a touch louder... still a very good album...
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