ALBUM REVIEW: Fortapte Roetter – Svadilfare
Formed all the way back in 2005, Bergen’s SVADILFARE have, despite a seven year gap between their formation and the release of their debut record, quickly built a small but respectable reputation for producing great, atmospheric black metal with an epic and monolithic sound. Their latest, fourth record, Fortapte roetter, is yet another great example of powerful and grand black metal that could be regarded as their best output to date.
SVADILFARE open Fortapte Roetter strong as Tenn flammen paa ny bursts out of the speakers in a blaze of razor sharp guitars and hellish vocals, interspersed with sonorous chanting which gives this song a very solid, epic feel. The contrast between these grandiose moments and the more jarring, dissonant approach of the majority of the song works incredibly well, providing an excellent opening gambit upon which to develop the rest of the record and its sound. Breidablik is a mid-paced, disjointed piece of music that really allows the off-kilter melodies of the guitar to carry the song, with some brilliant vocals and expert drumming giving it a very robust and aggressive sound. The more atmospheric elements have been all but stripped away, making for a very dark and fierce track that sticks in the mind after the very first listen.
After the powerful and venom drenched Brutalt fortalt, Hordalands skimmer makes use of a blistering pace and precise melodies to create what is arguably one of the more impressive songs on the album. The guitars and vocals are at their most impressive and focused, shifting between fast and furious motifs and far more measured, monolithic ones, once again bringing in the booming chants in order to make for a song with a great, engrossing sound. Vemodig farvel, despite its oppressive and eclectic sound, doesn’t leave much of an impression on the record, shifting from dark and claustrophobic sections to much weaker and minimalist ones without really adding much to the album as a whole.
Fortapte Roetter‘s title track really makes up for this dip in quality, however, blending caustic and emotive black metal riffs with sparsely utilised, but effective vocals, creating a huge, expansive sound that it’s very hard not to love. At points, the guitars are so glorious that they are genuinely hair-raising, with some beautiful acoustic guitar flourishes making an appearance towards the songs half way mark, and leading into a passage that is, if anything, even more haunting and sublime than the songs first half. This is by far and away the best track on the whole record, and is more than worthy of carrying this albums moniker. The album closes out with Sjoelvmord, is a another song with great ambience is quite unlike the other songs on the record, with soaring, clean vocals and an almost shoegaze feel, until the song bursts into life, proving to be a vast and epic piece of music that eschews many of the black metal elements within the bands sound in favour of far more atmospheric ones, something which helps to make this song stand out significantly from what has come before it. It’s a fantastic song, and a great way to bring the album to its conclusion.
With the exception of a couple of songs marring the quality of the album, Fortapte Roetter is an impressive offering that manages to encompass a variety of different tones and styles into it, making for a record that is both eclectic and memorable. From the coarse black metal trappings of the opening song through to the sublime heights of its climactic offerings, this is a whirlwind of emotions put to music, from rage to melancholy, something which serves to keep this album interesting and catchy from the first note to the last. Of all of their albums to date, Fortapte Roetter is easily the most fantastic and ambitious record from SVADILFARE.
Rating: 7/10
Fortapte roetter is set for release July 12th via Naturmacht Productions.
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