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Some countries just get no respect. Look at Malaysia for instance. This tiger has followed on the footsteps of Japan and has developed economically and technologically at a rate that is second to none in the region (ok maybe China beats it to a pulp). Like those born on the land of the rising sun, Malaysians are also proud inheritors of a millenarv culture. And yet, despite it all, Malaysia doesn’t get the respect it deserves. The country is often overlooked when it comes to matters of the first world and who would bet their kingdom that they’d be potential candidates to hold any of the next ten olympics. Not me, that’s for sure. It’s fair to say that Malaysia is the Rodney Dangerfield of Asia. Set it and they can achieve it, but where is the respect goddammit?
The same can be said about Swedish black metal. Despite the obvious exceptions (Marduk and Funeral Mist and well, Lifelover don’t qualify because those dudes go too slow and make too many romantic moves), the country has come to be known as the capital of death metal. And rightfully so, because let’s see, which sound has endured, thrived and aged the best? The one brewed in swampy Florida or the one baked in the frigid Scandinavian lands of Sweden? That’s what I thought. I need not answer that question. But in the black metal camp? Not so much…
All of which may pose a huge bump on the road to black metal Gothenburg four piece Styggelse. They just released their first full-length and the band definitely has their sight set on the world beyond their borders. After two demos and one Ep all growled and grunted in Swedish, Heir Today – God Tomorrow is their first stab at the English language. But the question is, do the members of Styggelse speak the universal language of black metal? I say, absolutely yes.
This is a deep stab to the heart of the genre. The songs feature a raw black metal approach that’s very reminiscent of the early sounds of Mayhem and the likes. It is well-played and not as sloppy nor as necrotic and creepy as the early classics from that generation. But their countrymen’s influence comes through in other tracks. “Once the Code…Forever” could very well be pure Swedish death metal. The riffs totally are. The difference is in the production which accentuates the skeletical elements typically associated with Scandinavian black metal and leaves the fat out on the butchering floor. The songwriting is very balanced and each song has its own demonic charm. There is not a clear stand out track which says something about how well-crafted this is. In the end though, there is something slightly unsatisfactory about this album. You want to dig it even more and you would have, if only the band had pushed one style over the other.
Styggelse, which stands for Abomination, gets extra points for giving such a long wiener to Satan in the cover artwork. John Holmes would be envious.
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