February 2013 • Blastbeat Mailmurder / Throatruiner Records
Time to get excited about a new black metal album! It's always a bit surprising when I hear something like this that is really traditional and old-school in sound, but still manages to sound fresh and interesting. That's what we're getting from Vuyvr, a new band from Switzerland whose debut is one of the more compelling black metal albums I've heard recently.
The main thing I like about Eiskalt is its depth. On the surface, you have the standard blasting-plus-raw-tremolo guitars, old-Darkthrone style (more or less). But dig a little deeper, listen a little closer, and there's a huge variety of rhythms and styles hidden in here that keep things going that you don't even notice unless you're looking for them. The occasional punk-ish drum pattern; thrashy, crunching riffs; slower sections that build up to a nice solid song ending.
Even though I can totally get into more artsy, "pretentious" stuff on its own merits, there are times when albums like this are exactly what I want. There's no frills, no gimmicks, but the songwriting is incredibly compelling and there are tons of moments where it's easy to just get lost in the atmosphere and groove along. Sure, Eiskalt is technically nothing new, but I'll happily take a finely-crafted version of an old genre if it sounds good. And this one sure does.
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