Review by Tobias on November 24, 2001.

I write reviews for you, readers, all reviewers do. Now imagine a scenario in which Universal Studios invited a film reviewer to a sneak preview of their latest masterpiece, expecting that the person spend his time reviewing the movie for his readers. Now imagine that Universal decided that they didn’t want anyone to give away the ending before the film’s release, so they decided to cut out the last third of the film. It’s that last third that ties everything together and makes it the great work that it is, so I ask, to whom is the disservice being done?

The readers, the consumers, and then it topples from there, hurting the actors in the film, the producers of the film and ultimately the film studio. What in the living hell does all this nonsense have to do with Therion’s latest? Have you guessed it yet?

That’s right, someone decided that it would be a bright idea to do exactly that by sending out promo copies for us reviewers that only have part of each song on it, touting the watered-down moniker of “faded version.”

It should be called “cut off in the middle so you can’t hear the rest of the goddamned song and then we might be safe from the evil mp3 pirates until the full version is released version.”

But I must lend my apologies, because I did forget to mention that there are indeed two full-version songs. But, then again, I don’t review singles, so here’s what I have to guess about the album:

From all that I heard, I’d say this leaf doesn’t fall far from the Therion tree. I didn’t really hear all that much new stuff in it, but then, Therion’s classical metal brand has a uniqueness all it’s own.

Strangely enough, and maybe it has something to do with this being the “faded version”, this album seems like it’s lacking a little on the sound quality production end.

The music is tight. These guys are together and are professional; they probably will pump out some great finales or something on the full version, but in truth, I'm not wearing my soothsayer hat right now.

The feeling you get from the music is strong and triumphant, but great triumphs come with climactic endings, to which I don’t have access. So, if it does, it’s probably damn good, if not, it really renders much of this disc mediocre.

Bottom Line: Give me a full album and you’ll get a full review. Don't be surprised if promos like these get banned from Metalbite.com.

Categorical Rating Breakdown...
Originality: 7
Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 5
Overall: 7

Rating: 6.6 of 10

Review by Vanass on April 4, 2020.

Stridslysten is one of the best black metal releases of 2019. It is the full-length album of the Swedish band Skald in Veum, which I hope there will be many more of in the future. All in all, it is a significant improvement of the band's sound and technical skills compared to their EP 1260 Days, which admittedly were never bad from the beginning.

The opening and title track 'Stridslysten' simply impresses the listener with aggressive and absurdly fast riffs that we all love, with strong groovy elements in the further course of the song, all accompanied by very pleasant blast beats. It's exactly what you would expect from Swedish black metal, but this track exceeds even the most optimistic expectations with raw energy and incredible speed and sets the tone and atmosphere for the rest of the album. Most of the riffs on the whole album are played in fast tempo and are very atmospheric, but still remain in the domain of classic black metal. Of course, there are also some slower parts like the middle part of my favorite track 'As Wolves Among Sheep', which are only used to build up the atmosphere, but what really stands out are the black'n'roll riffs that pop up every now and then. The sound of the guitars is relatively clean due to the only slightly raw production. At least in the studio version, the drums sound incredible and fit perfectly to the music with inhuman precision. I don't doubt that with enough discipline and a healthy work ethic such a level of technical skill can be achieved, but Resh is credited for both the guitars and the drums, so I'm almost convinced that the drums or at least some parts of them have been programmed. This shouldn't bother anyone, because the composition as a whole is a masterpiece of modern black metal. If my doubts about Resh's drumming skills turn out to be wrong, I have to apologize to him personally. The bass was played by Zhajiin. Compared to their previous release, the bass sound is still strong, but a little weaker. One thing I love about this band is the fact that despite the strong atmospheric side of their music they still manage to sound "heavy", all thanks to Zhajiin's bass.

The overall atmosphere is dark and just full of rage. The lyrics are radical in the sense of modern norms and represent a way of thinking that I can definitely support and understand. Heth, probably the most mysterious figure in the whole unblack metal scene, was responsible for the lyrics, which still surprise me in a good way. I just hope that their message and their music will reach a wider audience in the future.

This band represents exactly what modern black metal bands sound and should be; orthodox black metal, fueled by pure anger about existing social norms and supported by strong ideals, capable of creating new musical landscapes on old foundations.

Rating: 10 out of 10