A mysterious Danish mask-wearing duo that plays black metal infused with punk (or punk infused with black metal?) there's a lot about Nyredolk that would raise red flags in the minds of the suspicious were they on a major label. Yet despite how competently organised their online profiles seem to be, perhaps aided by rumours the members have experience in the underground leftist punk scene in their native land, the band seem firmly underground to these eyes for this not to be some extraordinarily sneaky artificial contamination in the scene. And if you give a little time to allow Barndommens hjem ("Childhood home") their debut full-length of just over 25 minutes length to sink in, you start to see that there's something truly special here.

For one, the band's sound is tremendous, black metal and punk infused in an especially dark and foreboding way that seems to be a channelling of childhood traumas rather than anything particularly Satanic in the genre's usual way. The production, handled by Jacob Bredahl, is thick and intense, allowing the instrumentation to shine and even the bass to ring out coldly. Frequent readers will know that your reviewer is a huge fan of Khold and this isn't a thousand miles away from the Norwegian groove-blacksters, yet this is rawer and less catchy than Gard and co with just as much intensity. It's also not as close to black metal's formula, in many cases here seeming more punk than black - which may put some off.

Yet if you appreciate black metal's aural darkness then this is absolutely aimed at you, a set of dark fables that even throw in clean singing in a way that will appeal to, say, Shining fans on Hard og Kold. That aside, there's little that is experimental or progressive here, with vocals generally being deep snarls and growls that echo cavernously against the music. There's not particularly much difference between tracks, either; one doing much the same as the next albeit with a little more rock n'roll swagger here (Martyrliv) or bass-driven aggression (Den forsømte barndom) there. All the songs are enjoyable even with relatively short lengths, like the sub-two-minutes of Afmagt fostrer foragt.

Album closer Omringet af kaerlighed is the longest piece present at over five minutes length, and takes a more intense approach to the atmospheric touch of the other tracks, vocals changing to yells and what seem to be yearning wordless sighs, a little buried in the mix but still discernible. Some female vocals later in the track give it something of a Alcest-but-rawer feel, and shows that there's depth here that can be explored more if the band do want a more experimental approach - yet for a first album and a declaration of intent, this is fiery, potent stuff as it is, a fistful of aggression that will appeal to fans of both black metal and punk.