Let’s welcome Schreigarm‘s second offering.
Following their debut album released two years ago, Styrr (saturated vocals/guitar/bass/keyboards/jew’s harp) and Ingvarr (clean vocals/saturated vocals/guitar/bass) once again call upon Lycane (drums, Colotyphus, Paganland, U Kronakh…) to create Mara Comes and Darkness Shall Reign, their second album, released via Purity Through Fire.
The band also called on Anastasiia for female vocals and Luciferia for Mara’s voice.
We enter their world with Darkness Shall Reign, a fairly long introduction that lets the instruments gradually come in to create a dark atmosphere before bursting into flames on Winds of the Ancient Pantheons, revealing furious melodies. The vocals then come into play, reinforcing the aggressiveness of the track by adding a visceral touch to an occult instrumental that draws on numerous influences to diversify at times, such as during the central passage followed by tapping or the hazy then aggressive break that leads into Whispers of the Blackened Woods. While the saturated vocals are obviously predominant, a few choirs accompany them at times, creating a powerful vocal duet to respond to the melancholic but majestic and intense instrumental, particularly before the finale, which leads into the cold When The Ravens Flow Through My Veins and its martial touch. The two voices once again unite to make the track terrifying, brilliantly handling the numerous rhythm changes and striking parts, while the keyboards hypnotize us, leading us to Through Time, Death and the Beast Within and its ghostly leads. The entire track is quite haunting, even at times when violence seems to be the main focus before this nocturnal-toned break, but the sudden finale rushes us towards Nine Days on the Gallows Tree, which begins with a moment of uncertainty. The arrival of saturation plunges us into seizing DSBM influences coupled with soaring riffs that captivate us and allow us to forget for a moment the passage of time, which is brought back to us by Mara Comes, where Luciferia enters the scene. The ritualistic vocals and percussion create a rather heavy atmosphere until Born from the Ashes of War takes up the torch, offering us one last dose of virulent melancholy where the drums play an important role in the onslaught, complementing the devastating vocals, but we realize that the album is coming to an end, and it gradually sinks into silence.
Schreigarm‘s icy universe draws on all facets of Black Metal to bring Mara Comes and Darkness Shall Reign to life. From the most ambient with Pagan influences to the rawest and most striking, the band’s sound is simply exhilarating.
90/100
