Review by SzejkElRopa on November 1, 2026.

There has always been something fascinating about Iceland. Primarily because of the remoteness of the island, which is closer to Greenland than to the UK or Norway. Also, I have always been mesmerised by the views one might encounter there. Northern lights, monstrous volcanoes, geysers spewing steam, and loads and loads of rocks (just look at the cover). Recently, I have visited Sweden and Norway, so I have become at least quite familiar with the northern nature and culture. Still, I'd like to visit Iceland one day. It seems that the emergence of black metal, despite the island's remoteness, has made its way there, and the locals have made good use of it.

One of the examples, and probably the best known, is Misþyrming, which plays a form of black metal that would not disappoint the Scandinavian inventors of the genre, as well as satisfy the fans of the more modern sound. The first three tracks of their second album, Algleymi, are the best examples of it, and they are absolutely perfect in every way. 'Orgia' opens the album with blasting drums and a brilliant melodic riff. On top of that, the band isn't afraid to use the keyboards, which do not bury the primal aggression of the riff; instead, they make the atmosphere as cold as it should be. 'Með Svipur á Lofti' also doesn't lack the evilness created by the previous track, but here, Misþyrming showcases their real ability to make use of fantastic melodies, which brilliantly counterbalance aggressive blasting and furious vocal outbursts. It can especially be heard in the second part of the track, after the breakdown. In that very moment, the melody (or a guitar solo) is fierce, brilliantly composed, and instantly memorable. However, in my opinion, the best track is 'Ísland, Steingelda Krummaskuð'. Although it starts rather inconspicuously, with mid-paced drums, later on it turns into a brilliant execution of hate and huge disappointment. Back to the geographic strand, apparently these guys would laugh at me if I told them about my travel ideas. This song is a hate anthem about Iceland, and you can feel that emotion in every second of it. The vocals are, once again, furious, this time accompanied by some shouts after the initial scream; the drums attack relentlessly, and the guitars play fantastic melodies. A brilliant, captivating one is introduced after the end of the vocals. It is slightly buried beneath the blast-beaten drums, but its execution is fantastic. It evokes the aforementioned feelings of hate, disappointment, and melancholy, maybe even longing, in a brilliant, addictive way.

After describing those songs, some words must be said about the rest of the album. Unfortunately, those songs do not match the bar set by the first three. Surely, there are better and worse moments, but none of these happen to be as mesmerising and well-executed as the opening ones. The rest of the album focuses more on dissonance and carving the emotions set by the openers. 'Allt Sem Eitt Sinn Blómstraði' has a sinister opening, which later turns into a chaotic maelstrom of riffs and fast-paced drums, which, at first, might even sound unpleasant. An honorable mention goes to Wraath, whose performance on this track made the atmosphere even more evil-sounding. His vocals brought another layer to the atmosphere as well as some variety to the album's overall vocal delivery, which would otherwise have remained one-sided. The black metal spirit remains throughout the whole album, mainly thanks to the fast-paced drum outbursts and more or less dissonant riffs. For instance, 'Algleymi' excels at creating a hypnotic opening, which captures the aforementioned disappointment. The album takes a turn into less approachable music, which might not suit everyone; however, the barrier to entry isn't extremely high. Some might be put off by the dissonant character of the second part of "Algleymi", which, after some listens, balances out the melodic and laid-back nature of the first half. There is variety in every aspect of the album, and it never becomes boring. Instruments don't sound robotic; even the bass guitar is audible.

The Icelanders managed to combine both ancestral evilness and rawness with a more modern take on black metal, adding to that a variety of emotions, making this a fantastic experience, which doesn't remind me of any particular band. Obviously, more experienced listeners would probably point to some names on the French scene, for example (that's at least what I have read in other reviews), but for me, Misþyrming created something original, remarkable, and emotive. Thus, I give this album 8.8/10. For the last time here, I will say that the first three tracks were perfect, and the others were either good or almost fantastic (although 'Allt Sem Eitt Sinn Blómstraði' and the title track were close to matching the sky-high level), so a score like this is justified. And one last thing - if you also had a wet dream about visiting Iceland, it will get shattered once you read the lyrics to 'Ísland, Steingelda Krummaskuð'...

Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on August 8, 2022.

Misƥyrming hail from Iceland. It’s a fascinating island with its own, rough culture, but to be honest, its black metal bands are often challenging. They love to wallow in dissonant sounds. This approach lends them a pretty unique note, but I would prefer a less pronounced affinity for bulky experiments. Misƥyrming, good news, do not celebrate this more or less typical Icelandic art. The quartet finds its pleasure in more structured, comprehensible song patterns. Don't worry, I do not speak about conventional verse-chorus-verse schemes. The songs are excitingly designed, but the guitar lines are more song-friendly than some of their national competitors.

The first three tracks hit the bull’s eye. In particular “Með svipur á lofti” captivates with its successful narrative arcs. But all songs of the opening trio deliver adventurous sequences, variable designs and, in alignment with the wonderful artwork, a lot of depth and style. (Indeed, the cover precisely reflects the music, great choice!) Every listener will realize quickly that Algleymi offers a broad portfolio of emotions, inclusive some almost Viking metal compatible parts in the third track. Too bad that the tired instrumental at the end of the A side adds absolutely no value to the vinyl. Powerless and cautious, it staggers the first half of the album to an ending not worthy of it.

But this is the only low blow the listener has to cope with. The B side presents itself more homogeneous. Okay, I cannot say that songs like ”Og er haustið líður undir lok” are overflowing with black metal atmosphere. Some parts rather sound like down-to-earth dark metal with a patriotic, northern touch. But there is always a sinister spirituality to feel and the comparatively muffled yet appropriate sound sets a good frame for the musical content. The vocals must also be mentioned in this context. They are deep, aggressive and terrifying – more or less, at least for romantic newcomers in the metal community. At any rate, the lead vocalist seems to put his whole personality into his performance and this is always a factor that makes the difference between “okay” and “very good”. Better still, the entire horde gives the impression that it loves what it does and thus the tight interplay is definitely not a product of chance.

The gatefold album includes a kind of lyric book with the original texts and the English translations. This is the icing on the cake of the stylish package. Nevertheless, the music is the crucial factor, but if you like profound, mid-harsh black metal, tradition-conscious on the one hand, but with an individual touch on the other hand, you cannot go wrong with this release from 2019. All of the seven regular songs have a lot to say and even the closer makes a strong and surprising statement due to its combination of powerful and almost meditative sections. It’s always nice to get one of the highlights at the end of an album, right? I'm almost ashamed that I'm lowering the average with my rating....

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Fernando on June 20, 2019.

After 4 years and several trials, acclaimed Icelandic black metal band Misþyrming are back with their long awaited sophomore album Algleymi and it is in my humble opinion another triumph for the band.

The band first took the spotlight with their masterpiece Söngvar elds og óreiðu and then released an excellent song “Hof”. That album and single showed the world of metal what Misþyrming were capable of and in this new album they continue to take black metal into bolder new directions. The first thing of note here is how the band has become a single working unit, a true band. I wrote in my review of their debut how that album was founder D.G.’s unique vision, and indeed that album was done almost entirely by him with help from drummer H.R.H but here all the member of the band made this album and while this is still D.G.’s vision, the rest of his band mates have helped him to fully crystalize their new sound.

The music here is widely different from what we heard on Söngvar..., the band has developed their sound from the raw and chaotic sound of their first record for a much more complex, controlled and even refined style, this is by no means a negative, this is an evolution from what they did before, the songs are just as fast and aggressive but there’s now an added layer of dark atmospheres and the guitar work takes more prominence in the form of melodies and riffing that the band hadn’t really showed before. D.G. and second guitarist T.Í. show off their chops throughout the album, the standout tracks where their guitar work is the main event are the opening track "Orgia" and the second to last track "Alsæla" where the tremolo picking is at its strongest. However I stand by my statement that all the band is what makes this record great, while the guitar work is noteworthy all of the band works together in unison, each member works at 110% and all the music comes together in all the right ways.

The soundscape created here is, as I said, a much different feel than their previous work. The stronger emphasis on the atmosphere is punctuated by the use of keyboards by D.G. they add that extra detail to the music, and as with their previous record the band is not afraid to switch things around with an instrumental dark ambient track, however unlike their previous album, instead of a menacing and ominous interlude the track "Hælið" is a much more morose and contemplative track. In a recent interview D.G. described the album as being bound by the theme of ecstasy and that the last 2 songs encompass the album as a whole both musically and thematically and I agree with that description, the album is both epic and morose, proud and loathsome, it goes through the whole gamut of dark and opulent, it’s a complete step forward for the band and has all the right pieces for Misþyrming to become one of the greatest black metal bands of all time with the only mild observation I can make is the stark contrast between this album and its predecessor, both albums are excellent but in notable different ways and for some people that will be a hurdle to overcome but I suggest that people give this album a chance, because it as I said proves why Misþyrming deserves the credit they’ve gotten.

Best tracks: "Með svipur á lofti", "Ísland", "Steingelda Krummaskuð", "Alsæla", "Algleymi"

Rating: 9.5 out of 10