ALBUM REVIEW: The Formless Fires – Kvaen
KVAEN are one of those very rare bands that have been incredibly strong even from the very beginning of their career. Starting out initially as a one-man side project for AUTUMN DEATH frontman Jacob Bjornfot, the band’s debut album The Funeral Pyre was arguably an instant classic, immediately establishing the Swedish act as a force to be reckoned with via an impressive blend of black, Viking and speed metal, with its 2022 follow-up The Great Below refining the already stunning formula further. With albums as singularly powerful as these two, KVAEN‘s third album, The Formless Fires, has a lofty pedigree to match up to. Luckily, this is yet another masterclass in razor sharp, catchy melodic black metal that leans slightly more into the band’s pagan/folk metal elements with typically effective results.
The Formless Fires is a darkly epic start, with tight, punchy guitar work, thunderous drums and blistering rhythms creating a razor sharp sound that is both grandiose and caustic, allowing the slower passages to lean into the melodic touches of its sound. The acerbic vocals match up perfectly with the music, being both searing and soaring when required, and putting an acidic exclamation point on an already powerful offering. Traverse The Nether develops the angular, rabid sound that underpins the previous song’s harsher moments, with fluid, disjointed flourishes adding to the effect. The warmer tone of the catchy leads, which lend a hint of speed metal and hard rock, stands in stark contrast with these jarring elements, making this a song of two extremes, veering between intensity and polish, with only the feral vocals remaining consistently fierce.
Tornets Sång, with its mid-paced, black ‘n’ roll sound, is defined by chunky hooks, steady beats and noxious vocal deliveries, with a generous dose of technicality and sombre, chanted backing vocals adding depth to the sound. It feels much more measured than what preceded it, tempering the sinister swagger with subtle grandiosity. The Ancient Gods accentuates the underlying worship of BATHORY‘s Viking era even further, introducing acoustic guitars, dense percussion and slick leads to effectively expand upon the formula of the previous track’s impactful and lively sections, closing the first half of the record with one of its most bombastic moments.
Basilisk reverts to the visceral blackened ferocity that Traverse The Nether possesses, but ratchets the tempo up to chaotic levels, with the light flourishes of the lead guitar piercing through the frenetic drums, impenetrable rhythms and snarling vocals, erring significantly in favour of darker side of the band’s sound, and being more bestial and vicious for it. De Dödas Sång, with its cleaner tones and rumbling drums and bass, strikes a balance between the cavernous Viking metal of The Ancient Gods and the blackened speed metal of the preceding effort, creating an eclectic feel that embraces the majority of styles that are present on this album, without the musical mix sounding too crowded or jarring.
The Perpetual Darkness continues in a similar vein, but draws heavily from the melodic black metal playbook for many of its best moments, with the adventurous guitars and forceful drumming crafting an epic sound without having to sacrifice its harder edge and whilst featuring some of the most inventive musicianship on the whole album. The Wings Of Death, another great song that plays with a slower pace and expansive, lighter tones, is perhaps the most atmospheric affair on the record, with soaring guitar work and vocals acting as the main focal point around which the belligerent drums and bass are able to impose themselves, resulting in a song that is simultaneously monolithic and muscular, and concluding the album in suitably powerful fashion.
The Formless Fires, much like its predecessors, is an epic and powerful record from start to finish, but it achieves this in a much more distinct way than either The Funeral Pyre or The Great Below. Where those two albums were decidedly more informed by a standard black and speed metal template for the most part, this album does a lot to broaden the scope of the band’s core sound without shifting too far away from the style they have had previous successes with. The inclusion of folkier touches and even hints of doom and heavy metal, along with the overriding pagan metal bombast of many of this album’s best offerings, means that even though it still possesses the trademark KVAEN sound, it’s much more dramatic and eclectic than anything else they have put out. Whether this is the first step towards a stylistic change or just a one-off foray into more immersive territories, it’s another undoubtedly magnificent addition to the band’s growing catalogue, and further cements their place as one of black metal’s most promising acts.
Rating: 9/10
The Formless Fires is out now via Metal Blade Records.
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