ALBUM REVIEW: Järtecken – Ereb Altor

Just two years on from their previous release, Swedish metallers EREB ALTOR have returned with another offering Järtecken. It is the band’s eighth studio record since their formation back in 2003, though their very first full-length album By Honour wasn’t released until 2008. Järtecken follows 2017’s Ulfven – but can EREB ALTOR continue to place their mark on the global folk metal scene?

Järtecken opens with Avgudadyrkans Väg. The opening is very gentle, with the echoes of the drums leading you into it, followed by long drawn riffs of the guitar. When the vocals begin there is a lot of chanting in the band’s native language, and certainly gives off the impression that this is going to be a slow and gentle track. It isn’t until you pass the two-minute mark though that everything gets notched up a gear. The riffs suddenly become much more prominent and much faster, and the track transforms into a black metal number. The vocals though for the most part are far from the generic black metal growls that you get used to, and are very powerful as they carry the song.

Up next is Queen Of All Seas. It follows a similar pattern to that of Avgudadyrkans Väg – the intro is relatively slow and calming, the solo guitar echoing, gradually building up once the percussion and bass are added as well as an increased tempo. Then the volume is increased and the complexity is increased, and the song takes another direction. The vocals are more on the aggressive side this time both in terms of the clean vocals as well as the backing black metal style vocals. It follows a similar pattern throughout the duration of the track, and at this point you start to realise what EREB ALTOR are all about if you haven’t listened to them before.

The recipe doesn’t stay the same for the rest of the album, though; the band do have a few tricks up their sleeve and there are significant differences across the tracks. One in particular that stands out is Chained. While the other aforementioned tracks built up gradually and slowly, this one kicks off right from the opening second. The speed is there from the guitar and carried through with the rest of the band to turn it into a real headbanger. While there are only nine songs which feature on Järtecken, it is certainly a case of quality over quantity, especially given that a number of those songs go beyond the five minute run-time.

EREB ALTOR have been around for a while now, and they have certainly found their own identity – fans of previous works will be pleased to know there is no grand departure here. As for new fans, well this is certainly a record that you need to prepare yourself for. The blend of folk and black metal may prove to be too intense for those new to the genre, but for the initiated, Järtecken is a furious and fun blast of blackened folk.

Rating: 7/10

Järtecken is out now via Hammerheart Records. 

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