Formed by HansFyrste and HaaN in 2003 and dropping their first full-length Misanthropic Path Of Madness 2009, Svarttjern have continued to terrorise our ears on a regular basis with their extreme True Norwegian Black Metal. They are back again with aural assault number six, Draw Blood, ten tracks of straightforward but blistering Black Metal spanning a brutal thirty-nine minutes.
Svarttjern – Draw Blood (Soulseller Records)
Release Date: 6 December 2024
Words: Jools Green
Once again harbouring elements of Thrash and rock within the mix, Svarttjern continue with lyrical themes of misanthropy, necrophilia and Satanism. They have not really changed their style over the last twenty-odd years, but they have honed it and ramped up the brutality. So if you enjoyed any of the previous five offerings, you will certainly enjoy Draw Blood.
Opening with the aptly titled Determination, it is immediately evident that Svarttjern still have that ability to get you instantly hooked. Following an unnerving spoken element, the track launches into a full-on aggressive assault of driving riffs and scathingly acidic vocals assaulting your senses but quickly adding a slightly melodic edge, which then pulls you happily along in the wake of this intense beast of a track. They incorporate sufficient ebb and build to keep the track tantalisingly engaging but keep the sound straightforward in a blisteringly good start.
On the next offering, Follow Through, thrashy riffs open and continue to form the core of the track. Overall, it is a slick switching, powerful piece that packs a punch and harbours a dark, rugged melodic undercurrent making it hugely catchy and engaging.
The pace ramps up for title track Draw Blood. With pummelling drum rhythms and an intense wave of cold black riffs, the acidic vocals cut through with menace. There is again a slight Thrash undercurrent leading to a mid-point drop where tortuous moans come to the surface. The vocals become increasingly sinister and the overall mood wonderfully dark and dramatic before resuming the earlier pace for one final high-speed assault to the close.
The opening moans and screams set the scene and go on to permeate a large part of the track for the next piece, Don’t Contain Your Lust. This is accompanied by driving riffs which ebb and build, adding to the overall sadistic atmosphere of this straightforward but superb piece.
Catchy spiralling riffs open Erect Your Congregation and continue to punctuate the sound between waves of driving riffs in a d-beat-driven beast of a track that sweeps you along in its enthralling wake.
Draw Blood continues with Lick My Flesh, where waves of Black riffs meld with thrashier elements. Where the pace drops, it becomes even more blackened, and the repeating emerging line “By my sentence, you’re, forever, at the end of my whip!” adds to the unnervingly addictive atmosphere of the track.
Chop, Slit, Flay is dark and driving with a bit of a gallop to the rhythm. There is a groovy atmosphere emanating from the thrashier riffs. Another superbly catchy listen, especially lyrically, this is a track where straightforward riff patterns have been melded in an impressively engaging way. As a bonus, just as the track hits the mid-point, there is a catchy swathe of lead work which really elevates the piece.
The undulating addictive drive is ramped up further for Aluminium Bat Domina with another blast of uplifting second-half leadwork, which lifts the track nicely. Lyrically, it is a track that also raises a smile from me. Aluminium Bat Domina might just be my favourite piece on the album.
The penultimate offering is a Rolling Stones Cover, Under My Thumb, a band who, in my youth, I was a fan of before discovering the delights of Black Metal. This is the first time Svarttjern have done a cover, to my knowledge, and it sounds okay. I can see why they chose it because, lyrically, it fits fairly well into their remit. They have tweaked the lyrics to make them a little edgier.
But I think they have fallen into the same trap fellow Black Metal countrymen Vreid fell into when they also covered The Stone’s Paint It Black. Again lyrically suitable for the genre, but The Stones are very non-standard in their riffs as well as quite flowery in composition and sound. When you sit the raw vocals beside it, to me, it does not quite sit right.
As I say, it is okay, but nowhere near as good as the rest of this rather excellent album. I know many people who like Vreid’s cover, so no doubt many will like this more than I do.
The final offering, Sin, Offer, Obey, is one last lyrical exploration into depravity. Darkly delivered at a slower pace predominantly, it gathers a little more speed and intensity briefly in the second half. Awash with classic Black Metal riffs across the track, the precision and punctuation of the delivery of both the riffs and vocals are done with superb effect, making it a cold, bleak and impactful piece.
Draw Blood was mixed and mastered by their bassist Malphas at Red Room Studios and will be available as a CD, vinyl or digital download.
