Misþyrming are undeniably one of the biggest Icelandic black metal bands and the latest to arrive at its sophomore point. Before them we've had Carpe Noctem, Svartidauði and Sinmara among others, most of whose sophomore albums we've reviewed here, here and here. But Misþyrming were already late to the party, having made waves with their debut, Söngvar Elds Og Óreiðu, only in 2015. Thus they didn't really get to the "bands taking a lot of time to come out with a follow-up" tradition, since Algleymi even had to be re-recorded somewhere in 2017.
So what's the pattern I was boasting about? Generally a lot of the Icelandic black metal debuts were heavy on the Deathspell Omega-worship type of dissonant black metal, something which would mostly be shed away on the follow-up, which is something that happens on Algleymi as well. While some of the other aforementioned bands went more melodic on the follow-up, Misþyrming really amped up the melodic side, so much so, that it kind of feels like it was made by a different band. Is that a bad thing? Yes and no. Yes because I loved Söngvar Elds Og Óreiðu. No because Algleymi has riffs for days.
If Algleymi has anything going for it, is that it's a complete riff-fest. I may have oversold the album's melodic aspect in the previous paragraph, so for all intents and purposes, this is still a very vitriolic black metal album with plenty of leftover dissonance ("Allt Sem Eitt Sinn Blómstraði" feels closest to the older sound). But there's an obvious traditional metal influence felt in a lot of the songs, one that feels sometimes at odds with the vocal performance and the overall mood of the album, as if trying to be dark and menacing, but triumphant and ecstatic as well. But even with the subdued emphasis on ambiance and the slight disjointed feel that the album has, which really isn't helped by the production, the album just knows how to hit you with a riff that makes you forget all your gripes.
And with Algleymi a big chapter of the Icelandic black metal scene comes to a close. They got the world's attention with their debuts, maintained it with their sophomores. We have yet to see how the next tide will hit. For now we know that Algleymi has hit hard enough to leave an impression, as well as to further cement Misþyrming among their peers, despite their delay.
