ALBUM REVIEW: Alt Som Finnes – Bizarrekult
Although their origins can be traced back to 2006, the 2020s has seen BIZARREKULT firmly embed themselves as a genuine heavyweight in modern black metal. Helmed by sole mastermind, Roman V., the project has evolved considerably since 2021’s debut Vi overlevde. 2023’s follow-up, the excellent Den tapte krigen, saw the band push their musical boundaries considerably – to widespread acclaim – and now, with surging momentum, comes album three; Alt Som Finnes.
A musical core firmly rooted within the hallmarks of traditional Norwegian black metal brushed with post-metal flourishes, Alt Som Finnes is an absorbing, rollercoaster of an album. Opener, Hun, may be the shortest song on the album, but it’s near three minute runtime is far from being merely a customary album introduction track. Unleashing frostbitten fury, Hun sees BIZARREKULT roar into life through a cacophony of blastbeats and blackened riffs, igniting the record like a flame to torchpaper.
It’s a strong opener and from there, Alt Som Finnes unfolds its compositional layers, allowing BIZARREKULT to ebb and flow seamlessly through mood and tone. Blikket Hennes – which immediately follows Hun – provides a first glimpse of this as frenzied blastbeats twist and contort into a dissonant, foreboding atmosphere, before flipping the narrative on its head with a dispatch of harmonious leads and soaring vocals from guest vocalist Yusaf ‘Vicotnik’ Parvez of DØDHEIMSGARD. A passage of play that would sit comfortably on a modern day ENSLAVED record.
This ability to dynamically switch and unfold layered movements, movements of contrasting emotion and resonance, is evident across Alt Som Finnes‘ runtime. It’s arguably one of the album’s greatest strengths. Avmakt boasts some seriously impressive riffs that compliment the powerful percussion ever so well, with its closing aural bombardment being northing short of astonishing. Håp is a gorgeous, reflective number that allows BIZARREKULT‘s melancholic elements to shimmer like ice that could shatter with the faintest of touches. And then there’s album closer Tomhet – the first song in BIZARREKULT‘s discography to be sung in English – which is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Here, the dynamics that sit at the heart of the band’s musical DNA are at their very best, twisting and contorting with thunderous blackened bite (helped by the additional firepower of MØL‘s Kim Song Sternkopf), all while having enough room to dispatch some of the most gorgeous instrumentation to be found on the entire album.
These are just several examples in an album packed to the rafters with quality. And for all the album’s willingness to be brave and bold with its musical explorations, it still retains that blackened heart that shows BIZARREKULT‘s connection to black metal’s most notable scene. Whether it’s Drøm – with its utterly venomous vocal delivery from Lina of PREDATORY VOID/CROSS BRINGER – or Aversjon, a track that swoons with sombre reflective tones as pained vocals cascade over the rolling drums, there’s some seriously good Norwegian black metal to found within Alt Som Finnes.
Momentum has been building for BIZARREKULT for some time now, and with album number three the momentum feels limitless. Building upon the success of its predecessor in every sense, Alt Som Finnes is an accomplished, thought-provoking, and highly immersive album from a band that is going from strength to strength. With their fellow countrymen in MAYHEM ensuring that the past is alive with this year’s Liturgy Of Death, BIZARREKULT show that the future is very bright indeed.
Rating: 9/10
Alt Som Finnes is out now via Season of Mist: Underground Activists.
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