Vehemency Ice cold black metal is the name of the game on Storhet av Morke’s long-delayed debut offering Granduer of Eternal Cold. Morbid, the sole member behind this Russian project, has created a nice yet not entirely convincing 37-minute whole here.

Shrilling guitars dominate the music that is backed up by programmed drums reminiscent of Hate Forest, playing mostly either rapid or slower blast beats. The cold monotony of programmed drums works in black metal sometimes, but here I find the programming slightly poor, especially when it comes to the tom fills, so that real drumming would have improved the album a lot. Black metal shrieks are delivered the usual way, nothing to complain about.

Riff-wise, we are not dealing with any masterpieces, just pure piercing simple riffage that flows nicely but indeed lacks a spark of originality. Hence all the six first tracks kind of go by and you never notice any proper details, and it’s not until the outro when things suddenly change: ”Outro” is a 11-minute melancholic ambient track comprising simple string and piano melodies - this one’s my personal favourite off the album and it’s the first time when I’m really focused on the music on Grandeur of Eternal Cold.

All the black metal alone on the album wouldn’t have made a truly successful release, but luckily the outro compensates a bit, so that I can give Grandeur of Eternal Cold a decent rating. Here’s to hoping that next time we get to hear more grabbing riffs and perhaps real battering.