Style: Atmospheric/dissonant black/death metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: A swirling vortex of sounds and sights with slight glimpses of hope radiating through the chaos
Thoughts: Well now, isn't this a pleasant surprise. I've had this album since it came out and completely forgot about it over the past few years. I've been on a buying hiatus of late, this lets me catch up on my older records that I haven't listened to in a while. Take a look at the forgotten tomes in the archives rather than adding new stuff to the already bloated collection as it were.
Svartidaudi was one of the first Icelandic black metal bands I came across with their debut album Flesh Cathedral. It was my first exposure to the countries unique take on the genre along with Zhrine. They both got me interested in what other treasures the country had to offer. Eventually I forgot about Flesh Cathedral and moved on to other artists. It wasn't until Revelations of the Red Blade came out that I revisited the band.
Revelations is quite a different album from the debut. Instead of the longer winding songs we have six relatively shorter (still about 6-11 minutes in length) entries. In addition to the shorter songs, there is also a slight shift in style from the epics of Flesh Cathedral.
Rather than a swirling vortex of chaos wrapping the listener in an unbreakable wall of dissonance and loss of control, Revelations takes a more measured approach. That's not to say that these riffs are not dissonant. They are, and highly so - but they are intermixed with slight traces of melody throughout the album.
It's in the melody intermixed with the chaos that the album finds its identity. It's still an incredibly challenging listen - especially for those who are not familiar with the style. But the small glimpses of predictable note progressions here and there come off as an outstretched hand in a cyclone of incomprehensible madness. It' gives my mind something to grasp onto as the band continues to weave its chaotic spell with the music.
Creating beauty out of a bleak and dismal soundscape is not easy, but that is exactly what Svartidaudi has done on their second full length. I would say about 80-90% of the album is the chaotic mess that we got to witness on Flesh Cathedral, but its that 10-20% that makes up the remainder that sets Revelations of the Red Blade aside from its predecessor. This is now going to be a primary example of how a band can evolve within the confines of their own sound. It's a damn shame the band isn't around anymore. I would love to see how they would explore this further.
Written March 4th 2024
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