Vehemency Ondskapt’s third album, Arisen from the Ashes, was finally released after 5 years of silence between it and Dödens Evangelium. I bet many people’s expectations were high but I never got hooked to their albums. I admit that Ondskapt has always had a really malicious atmosphere and that continues on Arisen from the Ashes, but I’m afraid that is one of the only good things about this record.

I can’t help thinking that Arisen from the Ashes sounds uninspired and banal: riff-wise we are provided almost nothing interesting - except maybe the first ominous melodies of ”A Graveyard Night” (which is, by the way, quite a good track overall). Otherwise the riffs seem to be taken from a How To Play Religious Black Metal handbook. I know, Ondskapt was among the first bands to play in that certain style, but Arisen from the Ashes sounds like a degradation to the level of the mimics that appeared after the initial bands. The production is as sterile Necromorbus sound as possible and that is perhaps one of the reasons that makes me not like the album. Surely the album sounds good with expensive hifi monitors and whatnot but that is not exactly the way I usually like my black metal.

One good thing is that Ondskapt hasn’t turned into a 200 beats per minute band: Arisen from the Ashes is almost completely mid-tempo. ”Ominous Worship of the Divine” does kick the album in with fast blast beats and the title track contains rapidity as well but that’s about it - even these certain songs change to slower pace towards their ends. I am, however, disappointed by the album as a whole. Yes, it sounds malignant, but that’s not enough when the compositions themselves are really dull.