Review by Vladimir on March 23, 2024.

I believe most of us are familiar with the connection between bands Khold and Tulus as both of them share the founding members Thomas Berglie (Sarke) and Sverre Stokland (Gard), plus both bands have been worthy of their general status in the Norwegian black metal scene. Tulus had a very successful 2023 with the release of their new album "Fandens Kall", which turned out to be a very pleasant and groovy black metal experience for those who can enjoy and appreciate simple things. On the other hand, Khold would make a return in 2024 with new singles that tease their upcoming release, and now come the date of March 22nd, 2024 their eight full-length album Du Dømmes Til Død is finally released via Soulseller Records. For fans of both bands, stick around for this one. 

In a surprising turn of events, Khold really hits the note with a strong groove in their doom-laden black metal that sets the mood straight for the entire album. Although the first track 'Myrdynk' is a very strong start, the rock and roll driven 'Vanviddfaren' is really where the fun begins and the aggressive energy of 'Heks (Du Dømmes Til Død)' just adds more testosterone to this experience. Just like with the other band Tulus, Khold’s music dominates primarily with groovy black ‘n roll that is quite dynamic with its tempo changes and styles that vary between songs, at times getting heavier and more unsettling as the album slowly progresses. For people who say that slow can’t be heavy or that these bands need to play faster if they are gonna play black metal, the fifth track 'Lædel' throws in some in your face d-beats that just add more flavor to the ominous doomy moments on the album, alongside with the atmospheric/industrial synths in the chorus that give an additional layer to the band’s sound. The title of the heaviest song, or in this case, songs on the album, could easily be given to the eight track 'Galgeberg Og Retterbakke' that continues to provide anger and intensity through d-beat powered ride, along with the final track 'Dølgsmål' that are all about teeth-grinding and F.O.A.D. energy. 

Khold’s performance has always been much more intense than that of Tulus, more oriented towards pure aggression and punchiness than catchiness and simplicity. The songwriting contains a lot of dynamic tempo changes that fluently switch between fast and slow throughout the entirety, with a lot of grooves in the riffs and drums that are even more amped up with Gard’s tight harsh vocals. The highlight of this album is that you can really just sit back and enjoy the ride, where you can just get entirely immersed in the band’s performance while still paying close attention as to what comes next. The stylistic consistency all throughout gives plenty of space to follow along without losing focus on the music, and as a black metal band they truly manage to keep you on edge as the tradition requires. What really blew my mind about this album was the sound production, which was handled by the legendy Swedish producer and King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque, who truly captured the essence of Khold and just raised the excellence of their songs a bar higher with every instrument being on the spotlight. Simply put, Andy always gets the job done and he always does the job right! 

Even though I was more focused on the discography of Tulus than to that of Khold or even Sarke, I still think that the band’s work on Du Dømmes Til Død turned out to be pretty great in the end. This album has a lot of anger and frustration expressed through black metal, as well as excellence in the band’s performance that gradually becomes heavier and heavier each time a new song comes up. Truly an awesome album that should not be overlooked if you are into groovy and rock and roll driven black metal. 

Rating: 8.9 out of 10