ALBUM REVIEW: Covenant Of Death – Vånda
The Swedish heavy metal group VÅNDA were formed back in 2017. Needless to say, their debut album has been a long time coming; a total of five years in the making. Supported greatly by their new record label Majestic Mountain Records, VÅNDA are set to release their debut Covenant Of Death, covering very real and important topics such as the current state of the world. As a predecessor to the album, they revealed their brand new single World Reborn in July this year.
The first track is Light The Fire. It is safe to say that this song does a fantastic job of intriguing us; not knowing what is coming next and keeping us interested as a result. The guitar work from P. Sjölander and Mikael Holmbom is frankly impeccable throughout, with the progressive riffs getting right in our head from the get-go. Additionally, Christopher Runsvik‘s vocals make this song complete – the quickest seven minutes and 42 seconds of our lives. Violence And Mayhem is next on the radar, featuring further insane instrumentals which are just unbeatable. This song is so disorderly, but in the best way possible. You can really sense the frustration and unsettlement of VÅNDA‘s reality right now.
Omnis Hypocrita is another ridiculously heavy track, taking our expectations of this release to even further heights. At this point, we are definitely realising how skilled these musicians really are – truly breath-taking. From start to finish, we are blown away by the level of expertise witnessed within this song. Brinnande Hat carries on in a similar vein, with some thrilling and exciting melodies taking the reins here. We wouldn’t necessarily say that this is one of the more memorable tracks on the album, but it is nowhere near bad. World Reborn is everything we needed and more. The progression of the instrumentals make for another amazing track and undoubtedly one of the best songs on the record by far
The introduction of Non Serviam is almost indescribable; yet another case where the guitar work is ridiculously strong. The chorus is simply outstanding, accompanied by some seriously heavy death metal type instrumentals which keep us truly engaged all the way through. The rhythms from beginning to end are astonishing, making the listener want to head bang repeatedly.
II is the shortest song on the release, sitting at only two minutes and 17 seconds in length. As the only full instrumental track on this album, it most definitely holds its own. The melancholy nature tugs right at your heartstrings, which is something we really didn’t expect to happen. The instruments capture the tone of the release wonderfully, encapsulating the pure emotion that we all feel at times. As the distortion sets in nearing the end of the track, we feel more than satisfied. The final song Goddess Of Death is a belter, coming in at just over eight minutes. From start to finish, it has us well and truly pumped and ready to hear more.
Honestly, VÅNDA‘s Covenant Of Death is one of the finest albums this year to date. This band have a real knack of both tugging at your heartstrings, whilst still maintaining total composure with eight well-rounded tracks that show off their true musicianship and talent. If you want to discover a brand new metal band that will leave you wanting more with every song you hear, then VÅNDA are for you. A true gem in this industry, that’s for sure.
Rating: 8/10
Covenant Of Death is set for release on September 16th via Majestic Mountain Records.
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