Review Summary: Despite some moments that shine and an effort to bring their sound into the modern era of Black Metal, Dark Funeral's first album in 7 years is ultimately a letdown.
After 7 years, I was really hoping this would be the BM come-back album of the year. I was expecting a return to form in the spirit of the "Secrets of the Black Arts" era. Unfortunately, aside from a few good elements, this album is ultimately a letdown.
Starting with the good: The production is a throw back to the more ambient, grainy tone of the 90's. This is a very welcome change from the hyper-produced, overly hi-fi tone that Dark Funeral gave us in the 2000's. There are also some genuinely good moments here, especially in "Nail Them to the Cross", where some more modern, almost "groovy" riffs bring to mind some of the better moments from bands like Deathspell Omega, Enthroned, Behexen and others who have evolved their sound and remained potent in the Black Metal world over the last 10 or so years. The title track is also another highlight which displays good old fashioned Dark Funeral: high speed, evil melodicism that would sound right at home on "Secrets of the Black Arts" or "Vobiscum Satanas". The new vocalist is also a good addition and way better than Caligula. He brings some much needed diversity to Dark Funeral's sound by incorporating more contemporary aesthetics, such as growls, moans and "throat chanting" which helps bring their sound more into the modern era of Black Metal. This, however, brings us to the bad points.
While Heljarmadr as vocalist is great in terms of performance, he sits WAY too loud in the mix, which does not fit well with the otherwise more ambient tone of the production. And while Dark Funeral has never really been known for subtlety or poetics in their lyrics, the lyrics here are pretty consistently bad and, in some cases, even laughable. Seriously, google the lyrics for "Temple of Ahriman", which also happens to be the worst track on the album as it is completely boring and devoid of any intriguing moments. The lyrics elsewhere are not much better, either. "The blood runs warm down her sanctimonious thighs" is an actual line from "To Carve Another Wound" that is just cringe-worthy. And since the vocals are so prominent in the mix, you get to hear every goofy line in perfect clarity. I get that English is Heljarmadr's second language, but it still has a negative impact on my perception of the album.
All in all, there are a few great moments here and there, but ultimately with the exception of "Nail Them to the Cross" and the title track, everything else pretty much teeters between "Ok" to "just better than bad". Even the opening track "Unchain my Soul" was disappointing. Dark Funeral is consistently know to come out guns-blazing on their albums, and everywhere else the opener is usually one of the best tracks on the album. Unfortunately, here it is one of the less memorable tracks on the album and a decent metaphor for the overall lackluster material that follows.
In conclusion, the album is, in my opinion, a pretty obvious disappointment. Especially considering it took 7 years to create. There are some glimmers of hope as Dark Funeral attempts to evolve into the new era of modern BM. It is obvious they made an effort to diversify their sound and aesthetics here, and in that regard it mostly works. Unfortunately, the material overall is so uninspired and forgettable that any excitement for this evolution is ultimately gone by the time the album is over. Honestly, to me a 3 is a bit high, I would lean closer to a 2.75. Ultimately, what is good here is good enough to keep this album from being "just okay" but it's not enough to warrant many repeat listening's from me. Here's to hoping that we get another album from them that continues to play on these good aspects and brings something high quality and truly inspired.
