Fifteen years of devotion for Mara.
Since their first demo in 2010, the Swedish band, initially led as a solo project by Vindsval (guitar/vocals) and now accompanied by J (guitar) and P (drums), has unveiled its fifth album, Sword of Vengeance, in collaboration with Immortal Frost Production.
The band immediately attacks with the sharp sound of the unhealthy Primordial Son, the first composition where the guitars assault us to support the vocalist’s assault before joining forces with the rhythm section to race ahead at full speed. The virulent melodies reinforce the icy sound with their melancholic and piercing touches between the screams before giving way to disturbing and chaotic tones on Nidingr, completing the rage of the track. The scratchy Old School mix is perfect for such a direct and furious approach, both in the riffs and the vocals, creating a real end-of-the-world feeling until Elite takes over, offering us a moment of respite with its vocal sample, then the apocalypse resumes when the band returns with a more martial and uncompromising touch. The roots of the track are deeply anchored in pure rage, and the footsteps that lead us to the more ethereal Lokabrenna confirm this, marking a real change in atmosphere, although the track also remains fairly short and violent, symbolic of common influences. The band continues to rage before moving on to Élivágar, which starts more slowly and proves that haunting and plaintive tones have their place within the project while remaining very effective, of course. This oppressive atmosphere continues on Blakkr Heart, first slowly, then at a much faster pace. The grief is palpable on this track, which even uses a short section of theatrical but equally intense clean vocals to accompany the harmonics filled with despair, before letting Urkraft revive a lively and contagious rage that eventually becomes more solemn and then visceral. The sound calms down for a moment, but Surtaloga doesn’t hesitate to set it ablaze again, dragging us into the most bellicose confines of the band’s music until its final moments thanks to its frenzied playing.
Mara‘s rawest Swedish roots are reminiscent of a well-known band, but its striking influences prove that the band has a whole arsenal at its disposal to make Sword of Vengeance a true weapon of choice!
90/100