Night Crowned – Hädanfärd
Release Date: 9th June 2021
Label: Noble Demon
Stream
Genre: Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Thrash.
FFO: Hecate Enthroned, Arcturus, Winterfylleth.
Review By: David Oberlin
Night Crowned have not been around for long, only five years at the time of writing, but their latest album Hädanfärd shows experience far beyond their years in terms of development. And then again, maybe I am just an old fuck that expects anything before a third album from the black metal scene to sound like it was recorded by an 8-track buried deep within an ancestral cave. But, this album, it is special; Reminiscent of what the late nineties/early noughties had but lost due to a lack of humility. Night Crowned have captured the spirit and teased it onto a fresh plate that now oozes with devilish allure.
Emphatic and fast, Hädanfärd comes at you like a nightmarish train made of alien riffs and glossy black blast beats. Where the power on display here is controlled and devised into cathartic melodies, and told with depth and clarity. And where the extremities, in their technical glory, are expressed with nimble exclusion. While it is a heavy album, it is an album that can act as a poster child for the idiom: do not mistake kindness for weakness. As it is, it is a very generous helping of great guitar riffs, intense drumming and blissful synths.
Hädanfärd being a poster child might also have a bit to do with the production. The mastering has all the right frequencies dialed in for that crispy overall sound. Where the EQ has bound to be a setting by now, with its ubiquity clearly the result of how excellent it sounds. Night Crowned have got a vibrant aurora glowing from the production on this, their sophomore album. The synergy that is presented here is, put simply, just wonderful to hear.
Night Crowned have got true melodic black/death metal down. The Swedish quartet have nailed it better than Pontius Pilate at a glue convention. Clearly taking inspiration from the divergent years of thrash i.e. the late eighties, this album is numerous in its transcendental moments. Moments that inspire pause for thought or to marvel at an emotion prevalent in the music.
Hädanfärd is an inspired piece, a collection of beautiful melodies surrounded by nefarious caws or a cacophony of darkness surrounding a pillar of wonderment. For only a second full-length this album is special in that it is too fresh to contain nostalgia and too different to fit in with any one genre.
(4 / 5)
