If ever there was a penultimate candidate for the very definition of “raw”, Vordr would be the winner;
Vordr's I is grim black metal that’s just as raw as it gets. Some people think of raw as bad production and inaudible sound; those people are retarded. Vordr does not bring you an unlistenable effect or what people claim raw to be, nor do they focus on out-grimming any other black metal band in the genre. With this mindset, it’s clear that they are only capable of making the best black metal today. A very presumptuous, pretentious statement, but I believe it is easily argued to be true; I have decided this is because a lot of black metal bands today rely and focus too much on keyboards and/or female vocals or a homosexual combination of both. Really, there is nothing (anything) very enjoyable about them; sure, they make the music more “interesting”, but let’s be completely honest: they just clutter the music and bog down what would otherwise be average metal and make it positively unlistenable. It all comes down to what appeals to the listener more; soaring melodies about the giant purple frog prince that kisses a dragon princess and a unicorn baby is born and Vikings Vikings Vikings is great and all, but I prefer the more simplistic mess your face up approach; this is why Vordr is way better than other black metal.
Upon first listen you will immediately realize that this isn't some pretentious, overreaching garbage nonsense. There are no fade-in violins, no battle music used as an intro, and no tremolo picking over an array of 'epic' synth lines that sound like what would happen if you struck Beethoven with a guitar and recorded his cries of pain. If you were hoping for any of that, you have come to the wrong place (Vordr happen to be so awesome that they are, in fact, their own place). Duly noted that
Vordr do not take such crap here or anywhere and it’s mandatory that you continue your disturbing pleasures elsewhere. Moving on, you will see that the production is actually solid for a raw black metal album. It’s perfect; it’s certainly not crystal clear but the almost fuzzy recording sound makes the guitar much more raw and ridiculous. This is what makes the album much more listenable because it’s not just a wall of noise with rough gravelly vocals dubbed over it.
The vocals for the most part can turn off first time listeners, most likely because the vocalist has such a high pitched yelp that will probably make you cringe and probably cause grim thoughts to enter your head. This is yet another thing which makes the band so great, and it’s not the raspy yowl or raspy growl you were expecting. The vocals are excellent and they basically match perfect with the raw guitar riffs which are mirrored behind. Once you adjust to the vocals, you can pretty much say its smooth sailing from there. The album proves to be well memorable and perfect in every way. Duly note that there is absolutely no filler and it’s just great from start to finish. Even the longer songs prove to be just as great as the short ones and don’t contain any silly melodies or interludes. It’s easy to say that Vordr are one of the best raw black metal bands out there today, but don’t be fooled into thinking they’re the only one. Just as the thousands of relentlessly insulting and extraneous keyboard sections stuck over recycled riffs are constantly repeated with an endless wave of stale and vapid bands, so too does raw black metal have its own array of less than worthy bands. If you find yourself a fan of black metal (or metal that isn’t a suckfest of gay keyboards), check Vordr out immediately; the only limit is yourself.
