Dark Funeral: Heralds Of The Apocalypse

Of all of heavy metal’s many sub-genres, few carry quite the number of regional sounds and scenes as black metal. From the trve Norwegian bastion of sonic obliteration to the grandiose brutality of the Hellenic scene, from North American black metal in all it’s atmospheric aplomb to the unrelenting nastiness of the South American scene, the tendrils of black metal stretch far, wide, and deep. But one of the most iconic scenes is perhaps one of it’s least prolific – Swedish melodic black metal. Springing to life around the same time their Norwegian counterparts were dabbling in murder and saintly arson, the Swedes built melody into their brand of blackened madness, keeping things every bit as evil but tempering emotion, hooks, and a touch of accessibility into their sound. However, of the Swedish-melo-black heavyweights, few have built a back catalogue that could be described as extensive – NAGLFAR release their seventh album in 25 years in 2020 after an eight year break, UNANIMATED their fourth in about 30 last year, again with an extended break, while SACREMENTUM have yet to release a follow up to their 1999 third offering Thy Black Destiny, despite reissues of their sparse catalogue making occasional appearances. Within Swedish melodic black metal, DARK FUNERAL have a better work-rate than most, but their newest offering, We Are The Apocalypse still comes a long six years after their opus Where Shadows Forever Reign – though it has been worth the wait.

“Time simply flies. We actually started with the first pieces four years ago, that’s when the first riffs came to life. We have been touring a lot and that of course delays the song writing process a bit. But then, on the other hand, what’s the rush? It’s better that we do an album when we feel like it is the right time, rather than stress something out just because it is expected by others. Quality over quantity.” Comments DARK FUNERAL vocalist Heljarmadr on the gap between records and the virtue of patience. We Are The Apocalypse is certainly no rush-job, and DARK FUNERAL found themselves in a fortunate position when the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a hammer-blow to live music, removing the constant need to perform and gifting the band the most valuable of resources: time.

“We were actually preparing for writing mode when the shit hit the fan. That meant that we didn’t have to cancel or postpone any actual tours, just festival gigs and other individual shows. In that we were kind of fortunate. But we did use the time provided by the pandemic to create the album. Lucky coincidence in a way.” Heljarmadr reflects, before commenting on the impact that ever-elusive time had on the creation process which saw DARK FUNERAL double down on the grandiose nature of Where Shadows Forever Reign. “That is the result of letting things take a little bit of time, evolution doesn’t come over night. When the pandemic struck the world and we realised that we wouldn’t be able to do anything else than to sit home, we immediately continued working on We Are The Apocalypse. I think that the sound is just a natural progression from Where Shadows Forever Reign. Daniel Bergstrand did a great job with the mix too, the sound is really big and organic instead of the over-processed, compressed and generic sound that’s been the norm for a while now. The loudness war is over and dynamics are finally back!”

We Are The Apocalypse also marks the debut DARK FUNERAL record for the band’s current rhythm section. Drummer Janne Jaloma and bassist Fredrik Isaksson have both been pounding the low-end for DARK FUNERAL since 2018, playing countless shows and embedding themselves in the genetic make-up of the band. However, this marks their first opportunity to write and record alongside Heljarmadr and band mainstay Lord Ahriman – and as the vocalist praises, they didn’t miss a beat.

“I think it was very luxurious to have them in the band a couple of years before we hit the studio together. They are both very skilled musicians and they had the advantage of having played DARK FUNERAL songs live a lot, getting into the music and band dynamics on a deeper level. Everything went really smooth and they fit like a glove and added a lot of their own personalities as musicians on the album as a whole.”

It’s clear, though, with live music and touring starting to creep back into the current musical climate where DARK FUNERAL and Heljarmadr have their sights set – and it most certainly isn’t with rushing out the next record to make up for lost time. “The world seems to finally open up and I don’t even want to think about another year like this. We are booking shows in the background and we have to think that they are doable. I don’t see us working on a “We Are The Post-Apocalypse” album for a while.”

Though the focus is, of course, this current slab of blackened goodness and what’s to come in the immediate future from DARK FUNERAL, it’s important to also take the time to reflect for a moment on how far the band have come. Pioneers of the melodic black metal scene, Lord Ahriman has led the band for over 30 years through line-up changes, turmoil within the larger metal scene and recent glories on the back of Where Shadows Forever Reign – with more glory to come. Though he only joined DARK FUNERAL in 2014 and spent the early years of the melodic black metal scene in school, Heljarmadr doesn’t shy away from the impact of DARK FUNERAL and the melodic black metal scene both.

“It’s impressive how this genre has survived for so long, being so extreme in its expression. DARK FUNERAL has almost 30 years of constant activity and we’re still going strong, perhaps even stronger than ever. Many individuals in the older bands are reaching past 50 but instead of showing weakness they’re showing strength, experience and a drive to keep going. I am myself close to 40 so I wouldn’t consider myself a youngster anymore. Just as the genre started out as an expression of fierce dark power and it has remained so through the decades. Perhaps it’s even darker now than it ever was. Juvenile explosiveness and impulsivity has been somewhat replaced with calculated and experienced strength.”

Every day the world seems to become bleaker and bleaker. Global pandemics, natural disasters, war: all these things are very real horrors, and ever present through even a cursory look at the news. The pessimistically minded among us may see the grim darkness of our current world as a sign of the end of days approaching – as have the pessimists of almost every age to come before our own. But if DARK FUNERAL are the apocalypse, the end of days has never sounded so good.

We Are The Apocalypse is out now via Century Media Records.

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