August 20, 2007 | , | 3

Trelldom, Til Minne...

Trelldom, the side project of by Gorgoroth front man Gaahl, recently released their third studio album — the first in over 8 years. Til Minne.. is a dark, raw blast of Norwegian black metal that, while experimental at times, doesn’t stray far from current black metal trends.

Musically, the disc is pretty quickly paced with driving drums and some decent riffing. Gaahl’s vocals are what help Til Minne… stand out some from the crowd. For the most part his delivery consists of mid-range growls and screams. There are a few moments when he stretches into a higher pitch as well as a few guttural grunts. Mixing in a few cleanly spoken portions throughout the disc also helps give the album another layer.

Til Minne…
The title track opens up with some standard riffing before the drums kick in. Gaahl’s delivery is rough and evil. There’s not much variation within the riffing and drums for the first half of the track and it does get a little monotonous, but the band does switch it up with some decent hooks and the first bit of Gaahl’s spoken delivery. The track does end strong with some beefy blasts from the drum and a few tortured screams.

Bortkomne Gvar
For some reason the riffing and drum combo on this one reminds me a bit of some of Satyricon’s material on their latest album, Diabolical Now. “Bortkomne Gvar” is catchy in the same way, but does have a few moments of sick riffing and drumming that has a very raw feel to it. Gaahl stretches his vocal delivery a bit more on this one, ranging from creepy, half-spoken vocals to tortured higher pitched screams.

Fra Mitt Gamle…
There’s a good 10 seconds or so of silence before Gaahl lets loose with an unholy scream sure to wake you from the silence. There’s some catchy hooks and riffs throughout “Fra Mitt Gamle…” There’s also an interesting bit of group vocals added to the industrial din that seems to cover this track. The spoken vocals on this track leave you with an eerie feeling, like you’ve just been witness to some dark worshiping that just maybe, perhaps you shouldn’t have seen.

By My Will
“By My Will” starts off aggressively and with an air of chaos as Gaahl gives his delivery a little change up, making for a disjointed sounding track — which, by the way, works really well in this instance.

Vinternatt
I love the start to this one. It’s evil as all get out. There’s some catchy drums and hooks to help break up the brutal onslaught. This is probably my favorite track on the album.

From This Past
The shortest track on the album (2:56) has a bit of a different feel from the previous 5 songs. It’s got a more structured sound — big riffs, powerfull drumming, and a deeper delivery from Gaahl. Another outstanding track.

Steg
The near 11 minute epic “Steg” opens up with a driving beat from the drums that doesn’t relent for the first seven and a half minutes. During that time Gaahl has a cleanly spoken, delivery like the narrator to some horror movie. Once the driving drums take a moment to recoup, the guitars work their sinister magic with a few creative and catchy hooks. The rest of the track is relatively calm, ending with some keyboards.

Eg Reiste I Minnet…
The final track on Til Minne… begins with some orchestral strings. They’re actually quite nice and appropriate for this track, especially after “Steg.” The tracks ends with what I can only describe as the groans and moaning of monks in some deep abyss. It’s an interesting way to end the disc.

~ ~ ~

I actually enjoyed this disc a good bit. It’s not really pushing the experimental envelope, but it does have some quality Nordic black metal that’ll have most folks looking for their corpse paint.

Favorite Tracks:
Bortkomne Gvar
By My Will
Vinternatt

Additional Notes:
N/A