ALBUM REVIEW: Desires Profane – Völva
Although they are only a few short years into their time as a band, Sweden’s VÖLVA have very quickly ascended to be one of the country’s most impressive underground acts. Even as early as their 2018 demo, along with much on their 2020 EP Promises Unfold As Lies, the band’s robust mix of punk and black metal was setting the stage for the magnitude of their future music very early on. Their first full-length album, Desires Profane, not only lives up to the lofty expectations that early listeners have had for it, but exceeds them significantly, with the end result being a style that has been honed to near perfection, creating an album that all but a small number of bands would even be able to match within their musical niche.
The Tower, with its domineering bass and drum backbone and muscular, melody-tinged guitars, is a brilliant way to kick this album off, with the music gradually building a palpable atmosphere, with the dense, rhythmic rumble being counterpointed by shrill, searing vocals that carve through the mix like a rusty blade, setting a brooding and cavernous tone for the following nine tracks. Walk With Me, with its galloping drums and thick, groove-laden hooks, ratchets up the intensity further, with rabid riffing and coarse, throaty vocals making for a powerful and blistering combination, allowing the band to craft an impressively harsh and energetic number that begins to hint at their chaotic side, something which is developed further on the following track. Expulsion Of The Flesh takes the feral edge of the preceding offering and pairs it with the monolithic backdrop of the opener, showcasing a sound both visceral and atmospheric, pushing the aggression and forceful approach that has been fermenting over the last two tracks to its natural conclusion.
Inverted Cross, despite its uninspired title, proves to be an incredibly effective piece of music from VÖLVA, coupling the frenetic drums and grating guitars with slicker, catchier leads, embracing a punchier and accessible take on the core style, with lighter moments from the guitars, especially later in the song, breaking up the animated aural assault that has dominated this album up this point without sacrificing any of its underlying power. Never Forgive retains the immersive guitar sound, making for an expansive and hypnotic effort, with the significantly rawer, jarring production pushing the music firmly into the realms of second wave black metal without feeling like a pale imitation of it.
The Serpent, with its jarring guitars and crawling pace, teeters upon the edge of DSBM, before shifting to a feral piece of black metal that’s punctuated by tight, punkier drumming and monotonous, primitive performances from both bass and guitar, with the harsh bark of the vocals only serving to make this even more caustic, only shifting back to a slower, moodier style in its closing moments. Perpetual Putrefaction brings thrashing, buzzsaw guitars, raucous drums and acidic snarls, doubling down on the dissonant and unflinching intense sound of its predecessor further, whilst making room room for some sharp leads in the process. Asmodeus takes these adventurous and imaginative riffs and applies an unerringly harsh quality to them, with hints of death metal, resulting in a denser, harder feel and serving as a brief, yet bestial, slab of belligerence that’s among this album’s finest.
Salvation reverts to the sludgy blackened doom of Never Forgive, but places the emphasis squarely upon the doom aspects of the music, tempering it with acerbic blackened interludes throughout acting as a brilliant contrast, showing a bombastic side to the band that elevates this track significantly. Closer Vagabond is a fantastically fiery and fierce take on the track by folk rockers NORDMAN, providing arguably one of the starkest contrasts with the song being covered of any track reinterpreted for an album, replacing the lush pianos and clean vocals for a nauseating and feral brand of black metal, bringing this album to a close brilliantly.
Oftentimes with this style of music, there are one of two outcomes; either the listener is presented with weak black metal with added punk energy and edge, or simply some punk tracks with a terrible production. This is one of those very rare instances where blending the two together is not only done well, but acts as a template of how these two genres could, and indeed should, be blended together.
Desires Profane, whether you are approaching from the perspective of a fan of either genre there’s a lot to love about these songs, and a surprising amount of variety that makes it even easier to get engrossed in. Hopefully, this will be just the first of many great albums for VÖLVA, as they have honed their songwriting almost to perfection here, and if they manage to keep making music of this calibre, they could become one of the bands that are synonymous with this style in years to come.
Rating: 9/10
Desires Profane is out now via Grind To Death Records.
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