Review by chrisc7249 on July 18, 2022.

Yes, you're reading this correctly… after nearly 70 reviews of purely death metal, it's time I come out and say that my extreme metal addiction has recently spilled over into black metal. I started listening to black metal not too long after I first listened to death metal, but it admittedly took me a much longer time to appreciate black metal.

One of the first albums I gave a listen to and has helped me get into the genre more than most other albums is undoubtedly Kampfar's debut, "Mellom Skogkledde Aaser," released in 1997. This album, man… this is how I wish all black metal was. It's epic, it's heavy, it's got a great atmosphere and aesthetic, and the production is perfect. It's a great package all around, and I'm surprised that they haven't received nearly as much attention as clearly less quality bands such as Dimmu Borgir. This is pure, unfiltered, raw Scandinavian black metal at its finest.

The most noticeable aspect of this album is the production. I'm a huge fan of the fact that the bass isn't completely drowned out, and everything is raw, yet listenable and easy to digest. I've grown more accustomed to production on albums like Ulver's "Nattferd" and Mutiilation's "Vampires…" but this is definitely a much more preferable sound. The riffs are melodic, heroic and, at times, downright heavy. I find myself headbanging a lot more to this than most records of its type. It's super gritty, and definitely has a huge focus on atmosphere, but they never let that detract from the heaviness.

I also love the vocals on this record. Dolk has some incredibly tortured wails on this album that bring out a lot of character and emotion and feel like the war cry of a deranged maniac from the Viking days of humanity. I also appreciate that the drumming isn't from a drum machine, which is what has kept from fully enjoying albums like Summoning's "Minas Morgul." These drums make it feel organic and less sterile, which is what black metal needs more than death metal, if you ask me.

If you haven't listened to this album and you love black metal… what on Earth are you doing? This album kicks so much ass, it's ridiculous. It's tight and fun but also raw and a truly unique experience that has kept me captivated years and made me love this wretched genre of music. Long live Kampfar!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Fernando on April 29, 2024.

I’ve been talking a lot about Finnish black metal, and that country’s particular style of black metal has certainly had an impact on modern black metal as a whole. And today we have the case of a supergroup of sorts, but in reality, this is the project of multi-instrumentalist LHR, the current drummer of Horna and a host of other bands, and most of them with his brother Spellgoth, who once again, joins his brother with their fellow Horna bandmate Infection, and current Behexen guitarist (and one of the pioneers of the Nidrosian black metal scene in Norway) Wraath, who all joined forces to bring Night Shall Drape Us and it’s debut album Lunatic Choir through Season Of Mist.

From that list of well-regarded and seasoned black metal veterans, you can obviously have high expectations, but it should be noted this is LRH’s brainchild, as he writes, performs and records all the music and instruments himself, whilst the rest of the core line-up provides the vocals and lyrics, however they are also gearing up to play live with an additional session guitarist rounding the line-up. At any rate, since this is a Finnish affair, does it mean you can expect some classic Finn black metal? Not exactly, while the band do display the same level of melodicism and shar rock hooks most expect from Finnish black metal, but LHR isn’t just rehashing the music from the past or the various projects he’s been a part of, the music here definitely has a classic black metal influence, but the project is also forward facing, from the production to the sound, this is a modern black metal record but it’s modern in a good way, furthermore LHR and the shared vocals of Wraath, Infection and Spellgoth also take the music down a ritualistic road which completes the entire experience, not just with their growling vocals but also their choir and clean vocals, additionally each vocalist takes the lead in the track their best suited and it works perfectly without ever feeling disjointed or as if they were fighting for space.

Technically speaking this is an insanely well crafted record, LHR is of course an excellent drummer but hearing all his talents in every other instrument, specially guitar and bass which he rarely if ever gets to play, his guitar riffing in particular is on par with the guitar play of Jon Nödtveidt or Infernus, switching from fast aggressive riffs, to bending strings, and more complex and dynamic picking and melodies, it’s downright breathtaking, and as a whole, it doesn’t sound like a single person did all of the instruments but it is. Furthermore the compositions are kept concise and are all evenly paced, with a meaty 40 minute runtime, the record wastes no time at all, and it goes by quickly. My one critique though is that it maybe goes by a bit too fast for my liking, and since the music has a very definitive sound of ritualistic and melodic black metal, near the end it can feel a bit one note, but by no means is it monotonous, as LHR very wisely crafted this record in a way where you get various musical twists and turns that will leave you satisfied but doesn’t overindulge himself.

As a whole this is an excellent display of a truly talented artist performing at a peak and with extra help from killer vocalists, and while I was left wanting more due to my own preferences, I still look forward to whatever comes next for this project and it’s also my favorite type of black metal in the sense that it has all the hallmarks of classic black metal, but has just enough polish to serve as a gateway album to the more extreme corners of the subgenre.

Rating: 8 out of 10