vildhjarta celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Led by Calle Thomer (guitar, Humanity’s Last Breath), Vilhem Bladin (vocals) and Buster Odeholm (drums/bass, Humanity’s Last Breath, thrown), the band offers its third album in 2025, + där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar +, released via Century Media.
Founding guitarist Daniel Bergström is credited for composing some of the tracks, despite having left the band a few months prior to the release.
One thing you need to know before listening to this new opus from vildhjarta is that the band has remained true to its roots: massive riffs and dissonance reign supreme, with ultra-worked-out production developing an apocalyptic heaviness that would shake any loudspeaker. But this is also the band’s strength, and we can see this contrast right from the first track, byta ut alla stjarnor pa himlen mot plustecken, which fills us with wonder as much as it crushes us, but it’s not until the second track that a few raw howls emerge from the mix. The musicians’ technical skills are evident in the explosive harmonics that respond to the aerial passages and imposing riffs, as well as in the vocalist, who doesn’t hesitate to swap his screams for almost reassuring clean vocals or ominous murmurs that contribute to darkening the mix, as on sargasso. It’s also worth noting that the band likes to surprise us almost constantly, linking extremely calm passages with their furious, syncopated Djent influences that strike without warning, as evidenced by the intense dar mossan moter havet, but also ?regnet, the? and its ethereal atmosphere that flares up and becomes oppressive. I also had a soft spot for viktlos & evig, which perfectly symbolizes the almost schizophrenic aspect of the band’s music, and which doesn’t hesitate to push the limits of their influences to make it their most advanced track.
Fans of vildhjarta have been waiting for it like the messiah, and + där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar + certainly doesn’t disappoint! Each track is a call to both violence and contemplation, and the moments when the two overlap are breathtaking.
90/100