REVIEW: Koldbrann - “Ingen skånsel” (2024)
Koldbrann - “Ingen skånsel” (2024) - Dark Essence Records || Review by Shiiver
After more than 10 years of silence, Norwegian black metal stalwarts Koldbrann return with a brand new full length offering titled “Ingen skånsel”, which roughly translates to “No Mercy”. I had the opportunity to interview Koldbrann in early 2023 for issue 6 of Arcane Archivist ‘Zine and learned then of this new album. I was immediately excited, yet apprehensive, as their debut “Nekrotisk inkvisition” is one of my favorite albums of 2002, while the rest of their discography falls a bit short for me. It's important to state that Koldbrann have never released a bad album, only albums that I haven't found myself returning to as often as the debut.
“Ingen skånsel” begins with some hanging dissonant guitar riffs before abruptly changing course towards a full on d-beat drum section. This interesting convergence of styles is a major sign of things to come on this LP, as around every corner there is a new influence implemented. Below all the varied influences lies the bedrock of Koldbrann’s style, classic Norwegian black metal as perfected by bands such as Gorgoroth and Satyricon. In fact, there are a few times on this album when they take that style head on, such as on the second track “Et uomtvistelig falsum”. The first riff of this track is an absolute earworm and sounds like it could have been an unreleased song from Gorgoroth’s “Incipit Satan”. Further into the album there is great implementation of slower doom-laden sections, full throttle thrash parts and eerie bent tremolo riffs. Variety is truly the album's strongest attribute.
I feel the highlight of the album is the fourth track “Prosesjon under blyhimmel”, which features multiple perfectly executed time changes towards the end. Tricks like this can easily become trite if overused, but I feel Koldbrann have done a tasteful job on this album. Much of the rest of the record sits in the sweet spot between mid paced and blasting, with a good amount of punkish drum sections thrown in. Because of this punk influence, There are a few moments on the album that remind me a bit of mid era Carpathian Forest. Don't let that deter you though, as I feel that this album has more sophistication than anything CF has written.
My only critique of this album is that I feel there is a lack of atmosphere. It neither has the seething rage and hatred of a band like Funeral Mist, nor the fog-cloaked mysticism of a band like Djevel, often leaving me very interested musically, but not transported anywhere mentally. To be honest, this is a very small critique, as I generally find the album to be highly enjoyable. After 5 or 6 full listens, I can without a doubt say that this is the band's best offering in 20 years. Norway, like anywhere else, has a handful of great bands and a vast sea of cheap imitations, glorified t-shirt salesmen and weekend black trend hoppers. Koldbrann undoubtedly deserves a spot in the highest echelon of Norwegian black metal and this album only reinforces that.
Power: 14 / 20
Creativity: 16 / 20
Songwriting: 16 / 20
Execution: 18 / 20
Production: 16 / 20
Rating: 8 / 10
Buy Koldbrann CD/LP/Shirt here: https://darkessencerecords.no/shop/?ffm=FFM_e4f818685854e071049d1a9d19b239d8
