Vithr    

Hedensk Skikk Og Tro
Demonhood Productions 2012

I know so many people are tired of traditional Norwegian black metal.  But when it is done right it can be a thing of majesty.  Which brings me to Vithr and their latest album, Hedesnsk Skikk Og Tro.  This is Norwegian black metal boiled down to its most straight-forward form.  Imagine Taake without any of the strange instrumentation and you will know what I mean.  The album opener Kjott Og Blod takes cold riffing, harsh vocals and hammering drums and delivers a full on frontal assault of icy Scandinavian devilry.  The only time this breaks form is the surprisingly clean melodic guitar solo that surfaces early on and the angelic female vocal passage towards the end of the song which imbues the music with a psychedelic vibe.  A midtempo stomp with thick bass lurches along at a creep on Trolldom.  The way the groove and bass guitar are fused into a heavy wall of black metal destruction I am reminded somewhat of Khold.  A melodic lead and diabolical groove form a nostalgic union on Ild.  Then the song crashes into pillars of grinding guitars before relenting to haunting female vocals.  Changing gears somewhat, the title-track explodes at warp speed with blasting black metal riffs and hyper drums.  The song is a freezing gale of Nordic black metal tradition.  So far this album has just been strong, but on Strid it makes the leap to great.  There is something so captivating about the main riff on this song.  It has a melody that speaks of ancient and organic forests and grooves that conjure images of stone-hard trolls lurking within the forests.  Next up is I Skogen with its dream-like storytale feel to it.  The slow riffs and chilling synths have parallels with Burzum, but as seen through a Wildhoney era Tiamat lens.  At the 2 minute mark the riff shifts into forlorn Nordic black metal melodies.  Hedensk Skikk Og Tro treads a fine line between the no-frills approach of Taake and the heavier, groove oriented approach of Khold.  With that in mind, Vithr is an unshakeable example of traditional Norwegian black metal.  They are solid and strong and occasionally great.