Svartsyn - The True Legend
Agonia Records
Black Metal
7 songs (39:31)
Release year: 2012
Svartsyn, Agonia Records
Reviewed by Charles
Svartsyn’s Wrath Upon the Earth was one of my favourite black metal albums of last year, primarily because of its contorted “war metal” delivery that set it somewhat aside. But earlier in their career- think the late 90s and early 00s- band sat more solidly in the mainstream of Swedish black metal, with a sound highly comparable to compatriots like Dark Funeral or Marduk. And very worthy they were too- listen for example to the harsh brilliance of 2000’s …His Majesty, a pristine black metal record whose icy blast made it a worthy follower of A Blaze in the Northern Sky. Their full-length debut from 1998, The True Legend, also featured some highly impressive black metal songcraft, but failed to make much of an impact due to its terribly botched production job. While there is obviously something to be said for the grimness factor that comes from badly-produced black metal, that record’s anaemic guitar tone is the worst crimes that can be inflicted on this type of music.

But wait! The review you are reading now is not an archive of that first release, but rather of its present day recapitulation. It hasn’t merely been thoroughly re-mastered, but also partly re-recorded, and given some rather fetching new red-and-purple artwork to boot. Sounding now like a band firing on all cylinders, this record now seems eminently at home in the orthodox black metal stables of Agonia, alongside bands like the similarly-named Svarttjern and Belgian warhorses Enthroned- indeed in the vaguely melodic bent to their blasting they bear a fleeting likeness to the latter, which will have largely faded by the time of Wrath Upon the Earth.

The music itself, if not perhaps exciting, is eminently worth hearing. This is, of course, orthodox black metal, but it is equipped with more hooks than the usual. While opener Tearing Your Soul may not grab you from the start, with its slightly languid opening riff and ultra-conventional tremolo blast, the appeal becomes stronger around 2:30 when it switches into a properly mean groove. Then on 3:08, there’s a breakdown into a stomping rhythm guitar riff that has overtones of NWOBHM. Indeed, this is the pattern for much of The True Legend, in which seemingly uneventful stretches of black metal are enlivened by the simple presence of good riffing. Snake in the Garden balances a head-nodding mid-tempo groove with wistful melodic ideas that seem very close to Taake. It also features a plaintive, single synth string line- an underpowered symphonic allusion which works because of its wan austerity. Oh, and the vocals are good as well. Ornias’s delivery is gutturally rhythmic, working neatly as a percussion instrument on tracks like Cursed Blaze from the Castle.

The True Legend is not the best Svartsyn record. Its follow-up, …His Majesty, is a rawer and altogether more impressive work, and last year’s Wrath Upon the Earth is heavier and more distinctive. Nonetheless, as the richly melodic, organ-augmented climax of Shadows Painting My Eyes draws the record to a close, the abiding memory is of a very well-put-together work of traditional black metal, rich in moments of grim power.

Killing Songs :
Tearing Your Soul, Ghoulhaunted Forest, Shadows Painting My Eyes
Charles quoted 75 / 100
Other albums by Svartsyn that we have reviewed:
Svartsyn - Requiem reviewed by Andy and quoted 76 / 100
Svartsyn - Black Testament reviewed by Andy and quoted 73 / 100
Svartsyn - Wrath Upon the Earth reviewed by Charles and quoted 87 / 100
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