Review by Felix on June 27, 2024.

Norway has lost its leading role in terms of black metal already years ago, although some bands still try to follow in the footsteps of the pioneers. The bitter truth is: usually they fail. Hjemsøkt’s debut EP explains why. “Mystikk og Mørke” is a generic yet suitable title, the artwork is quite impressive in its simplicity. But the songs lack coherence. “Steinens mørke søvn” starts relatively promising with a dense guitar wall, but it does not take long until a break leads to a comparatively expressionless mid-tempo part. The song implodes completely as an acoustic break sets in. Only the extremely raw vocals remind us of the fact that we are listening to a black metal output. Finally, the song regains the intensity of the beginning with the fiery guitars until it ends abruptly. I am sorry, but this is an opener where the sum of the single parts is disappointing, because it does not shape a convincing overall result.

The further tracks have the same problem. Some sections are okay, but just when you think things are really getting going, the band is suddenly overcome by weltschmerz again and everything fizzles out. The short, calm intermezzo “Sorgens hymne” marches to a different drummer. The lead vocalist accompanies the mild guitar work with a relatively clean voice, but the whole thing remains insignificant. Anyway, such an interlude can be ignored as long as the other songs meet the expectations. But really thrilling sections do not occur here and, aggravating the situation, the production does not make the songs better. The guitars swallow the drums almost completely. Only the voice is able to resist the dominance of the guitars whose sound is free from nuances. Everything leaves a fuzzy picture. Perhaps some guys say that this type of production fits the genre excellently, but I disagree. A more professional sound would have been a fine thing, but maybe a low budget left no other options, so I don’t want to be too harsh here.

Now that I have explained why “Mystikk og Mørke” does not make my day, an important question remains: does the band has the talent and potential to do it better? Honestly speaking, time will tell, but if they focus on a few good ideas and lines per song, it is possible that they can make some huge steps forward. And they have to make a decision. Either they want to celebrate very intense black metal, or they like to embody a lot of tragic and fatalism. Their EP has shown that they cannot connect both streams successfully, at least not until now. Despite a few still great bands, Norway has lost a lot of its glory.

Rating: 5.3 out of 10