Album Review: Vanhelgd - Atropos Doctrina
Reviewed by Rich Oliver
Forging away since 2007, Vanhelgd are one of the best kept secrets from the Swedish metal underground having unleashed five festering full lengths of unrelenting and evil death metal goodness and with album number six “Atropos Doctrina” the band add some new dynamics to their sound.
Across the eight songs which make up the album, the evil atmosphere is upped, there are further influences from black metal and there is a more liberal use of melody but the sort of melodies that enhance the evilness and ferocity of the music rather than detract from it. The looming influence of Swedish melodic black metal is apparent and when mixed with the raw and uncompromising death metal sound that the band are known for, the results speak for themselves.
Prior albums from the band have seen the songs performed in a mix of both English and Swedish bit on “Atropos Doctrina” the band’s mother tongue prevails and those Swedish lyrics are spewed forth by Mattias Frisk and Jimmy Johansson whilst both also unleash a barrage of hellish riffs and sinister melodies through their impeccable guitar work. Songs such as ‘Ofredsår’, ‘Atropos Hymnarium’ and ‘Kom dödens tysta ängel’ are prime examples of this atmospheric and melodic mix of black and death metal that the band have perfected to a fine art on this album.
It has been six years since the last Vanhelgd album and six years of turmoil in the world which has easily fuelled the venom in this collection of songs. As the band state themselves “Much and nothing has changed. Tragedy, ecstasy and doom are still our perpetual companions and the age of man is indefatigable crawling towards the end of its path” and “Atropos Doctrina” is a definitive soundtrack to back that statement. The album was recorded under the watchful eye of Marduk’s Magnus “Devo” Andersson and the results are a big and heavy production which still retains the rawness that one comes to expect of a Vanhelgd album. This is one of the stand out albums from the band and proof that the inclusion of melody in extreme metal does not mean compromising on the extremity of the music. If Swedish death metal and black metal are your thing then this album is a must hear.
