Time Signature The necessity of evil..

Genre: black metal

Den Saakaldte are back. After an absence of five years, the Norwegian misanthropes unleash their second full-length upon the world in the form of the intense, yet melodic and strangely alluring "Faen i Helvete".

The seven tracks on the album are insanely intense thanks to a near equilibrium between black metal aesthetics (such as the obligatory tremolo-picked guitars accompanied by blast beats) and thrash metal aggression. This applies in particular to the three first tracks and, to some extent, to 'Som et arr på sjælen' although this song sounds slightly more crusty to me. Amidst the black and thrash metal onslaught, we find ominously quiet passages such as the bridge of 'Endeløst onde', which also features more melodic vocals in places. 'Djevelens Verk' takes an even more melodic turn, treating the listener to sublimely tasty melodic black metal.

What makes this album so particularly attractive - even to people who do not fully understand black metal - is the blend of thrash metal and black metal combined with melody. Also, Den Saakaldte have opted for a more edgy and less atmospheric sound than much other black metal, and thus the album is not drowned in reverb. This production adds edge and aggression to the album and goes well with the more thrashy elements.

Fans of black metal should check this album out - it may not be totally kvlt, but it "for faen i helvete" still damn good. And, as mentioned, I think it wlll be accessible enough that listeners who are not necessarily hardcore black metal fans.