Sólstafir – Berdreyminn

By Hera Vidal. Sólstafir is one of those bands that grows on you, especially when you look past their earlier material and realize how much they have changed since their inception. They may have started as a black metal band

By Hera Vidal.

Cover art by Adam Burke.

Sólstafir is one of those bands that grows on you, especially when you look past their earlier material and realize how much they have changed since their inception. They may have started as a black metal band, but, over time, they have moved towards a more accessible post-metal sound, with softer rock influences. However, there is a deep, emotional well behind the music and the lyrics, and the atmosphere Sólstafir creates is one of the most immersive a listener can get into. After all, what better way to explore the various facets of your musical experimentation than by building on what has already been done?

In the beginning, Berdreyminn (Icelandic for “dreamer”) sounds like the sonic landscape their previous release, Ótta, had created. It’s soft, almost like a lullaby, and it’s filled with a presence that you can feel. The softer rock influences take center stage on the album, complementing the vocals, almost lifting them. It creates a sense of calm that stays with you throughout the album, even as it ends and begins again. Although the metal is there – in the emotional vocals that seem to reverb throughout the album – the most prominent aspect of the album are the instruments. If there one thing Sólstafir can do well, it’s layering their music to where it’s most effective.

Everything about Berdryminn is polished and emotional; there are no notes out of place, nothing unexpected that the listener has to worry about. Given that the musicality and the instrumentation of Berdreyminn is excellent, it should come as no surprise that the vocals have taken a backseat. The music has created this atmosphere that you don’t want to come out of, and the vocals, with their almost hypnotic timbre and quality, reinforces this comfort. Berdreyminn could have been a second Ótta, with its instrumental quality and vocals, but it’s not Ótta – it’s a different sound altogether, and one that stays with you long after it’s over.

Despite the brilliance of the music and vocals, the quality of its sound, and the dream-like nature of the atmosphere, Berdreyminn does have the unfortunate chance of becoming stale rather quickly if one is not paying attention. There aren’t many things that makes this album interesting the first time around; to catch the subtleties, you need to listen to the album numerous times. It’s simple to gloss over Berdreyminn, especially when the pacing is odd and the atmosphere stays the same throughout the album. However, Berdreyminn does have the saving grace of having different parts a listener can focus on during each spin or listen.

All in all, Berdreyminn is a fantastic transition from their old material. I am excited to hear where the band goes with their new sound and I hope that, wherever they go, they continue to make stellar music.

Valdur - Divine Cessation

By Steven Leslie. One of the things that made the earliest strains of Death Metal so compelling was the bands’ inherent understanding that for all their boundary pushing extremity, the key to great music was still a groove that sinks

By Steven Leslie.

Cover art by Farron Loathing

One of the things that made the earliest strains of Death Metal so compelling was the bands’ inherent understanding that for all their boundary pushing extremity, the key to great music was still a groove that sinks it’s hooks in and gets listeners moving. As technical skills progress and bands continue to push boundaries, either focusing on displaying their musical proficiency or creating the most atmospherically disturbing take on the genre, that core songwriting element been increasingly neglected.

Undoubtedly Valdur’s newest record Divine Cessation, released in the tail end of 2017, owes a debt to the sound Incantation pioneered. However, unlike many of the teethless rehashes spawned in Incantation’s wake, Valdur has crafted genuinely compelling songs built on infectious dirges and an enveloping sonic darkness that gives the founders a run for their money. While many bands inject one or two killer riffs in a song and suture them together with reckless bouts of chaos, Valdur shows their experience as songwriters by ensuring every section flows together flawlessly, creating songs that will bewitch any fan of atmospheric death metal.

Their astute use of tempo variation is critical to their success, allowing for a diverse and dynamic feel as tracks surge and recede like some unholy army laying siege to a heavily entrenched enemy. The album’s power and range is significantly aided by a stellar drumming performance by Matthew (also of the excellent Sxuperion and Weverin). Instead of simply functioning as the rhythmic backbone of Valdur’s songs, the drums are used to accent and propel the songs forward. Held together by spectacular riff craft and an air-tight interplay between guitar and bass, Matthew is able to play around with enchanting rhythms and charismatic fills, expanding the sound and ensuring that no riff, no matter how long it is sustained, ever gets stale. The crashing cymbals and constantly shifting cavalcades of battery make these catchy, hook-filled hymns all the more compelling.

If there is one area that might hold the record back from being a bona fide classic, it is the vocals. For the most part, Valdur stick to the guttural, echo-drenched sound that is so prolific in the Incantationcore bands of today. While they are competently performed, the warmer, cleaner instrumental production leaves the cavernous vocals sounding rather alien with the rest of the music’s vibe at times. Not necessarily a bad thing, but coupled with a distinct lack of vocal variety, the songs sometimes seem a little more one-dimensional than they actually are. That said, there are a few shining moments when higher register, black metal influenced howls, still drenched in echo and which seem to fit the music better, add that extra touch to take the tracks like “Plague Born of a Dying Star” to the next level. Going forward, continuing pepper their songs with more of this vocal interplay could make them contenders as one of the top modern death metal bands.

Valdur has taken that early groove oriented style and seamlessly integrated it with the atmospheric, murky death metal that is all the rage at the moment. This is an album well worth your time if you enjoy that atmosphere-laced death metal sound. Plus, at a name-your-price download you really can’t lose.

Hammr - Unholy Destruction

Multi-instrumentalist J. Hammer kick-started his one-man metalpunk band Schizoid Hammer in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2013. A couple of low-key releases and one rejigged band name later, and now the Satan-lovin Hammr are set to deliver

By Craig Hayes.


Multi-instrumentalist J. Hammer kick-started his one-man metalpunk band Schizoid Hammer in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2013. A couple of low-key releases and one rejigged band name later, and now the Satan-lovin Hammr are set to deliver their ripping first full-length, Unholy Destruction.

Unholy Destruction is seeing a release via label Hells Headbangers, which is a fitting home for an avidly old-school band like Hammr. Like many groups on Hells Headbangers’ roster, Hammr pays sonic tribute to groups like Bathory, Sodom, Venom, and early Slayer. But equally as important to Hammr's sound is the resounding echo of d-beat legends Discharge.

In fact, it’s Discharge's influence that sees Hammr stand out in the metalpunk crowd. Reason being, Hammr aren't afraid to truly embrace the maniacal metalpunk madness. They don't hesitate to tear into their songs with a bloodthirsty bite. They're prepared to mangle their music and they happily red-line the harshness as well. And those are all crucial 'punk' elements in the metalpunk equation.

Hammr shows an appreciation of how Discharge explored the creative possibilities of sheer abrasive noise. And tracks off Unholy Destruction, like "Satanic Raid", "Under Black Command", and "Eternal Prey", duly feature swarms of jagged riffs and rapid-fire d-beat. What really makes those songs though, is how Hammr just keeps ramping up the relentless and wild ante, with every passing second, and the band maintains that ferocity throughout Unholy Destruction.

On the one hand, Hammr's diehard commitment to a single-minded (and always blistering) musical vision is admirable. But it’s also going to be a make or break feature for some. Obviously, some metal fans want ultra-precise music rendered with crunchy clarity. But Hammr deals in raw fucking mayhem, and intricacy is often buried deep in Unholy Destruction's filthy mix.

Hammr is also dedicated to fusing ferocious black/speed metal with feral punk at a warp-speed pace. And Unholy Destruction holds fast to that scorched-earth aesthetic. There's no 'explorative this’ or 'progressive that’ anywhere. Unholy Destruction is just rip, shit or bust, through and through.

Obviously, if you’re a fan of non-stop berserker blasts of metalpunk, that’s all great news. And Hammr definitely matches their unhinged attitude with a vivid recognition of what made the birth of extreme metal so thrilling in the first place.

Of course, that’s not a unique frame of mind, as such, and galloping songs like "Sadistic Poison", "Death Reign", or "Demonic Rites" share stylistic similarities with the works of fellow old-school worshippers like Midnight or Toxic Holocaust. It's no surprise then to discover that Midnight’s Commander Vanik contributed savage solos to Unholy Destruction or that he mixed the album too. Toxic Holocaust’s head-honcho, Joel Grind, mastered Unholy Destruction as well. And Midnight, Toxic Holocaust and Hammr do share very similar creative convictions.

Unholy Destruction isn't breaking any new ground. But the album's frenzied tracks are primed to remind you why underground metal first grabbed a hold of your rotten little heart. Hammr deliver whirlwind broadsides of barbed riffs and barked vocals and Unholy Destruction’s sole focus is 666% lawless intensity. Hammr might be a lone-wolf right now. But after Unholy Destruction's release, there’ll be plenty of others only too willing to join the pack.