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This is another lesser-known gem from the Swedish Black Metal scene, being Sorhin's debut full-length. Scathing, hateful vocals, sharp guitars and blinding speed assault the listener from the very beginning of "Godhetens Fall" and it does not let up. I discovered this on a freezing Winter day, and I think this was a very appropriate time to do so.
The sound is more reminiscent of early Dissection, without really sounding like them at all. By that, I mean that the sense of melody reminds me more of the early Norwegian bands rather than the blasting, lifeless sounds of some of the better-known bands. Their use of Swedish lyrics is also very fitting, as this language suits the music quite well.
While there are tempo shifts, the fast-paced songs dominate until we arrive at "Svartvintras" ("The Black Winter") which is slower and has almost a Burzum-like quality to the main riff. Of course, this song speeds up as well, but it is not without feeling. As much as I loathe to admit it, the vocal delivery here is quite similar to Satyricon's The Shadowthrone. Luckily, this is a much more solid album than that and is not plagued with worthless keyboards to act as a crutch to create atmosphere. Actually, upon closer inspection, the vocals are also reminiscent of Ritual, from Master's Hammer.
There are many great melodies on this album, some violent and some mournful. The Swedish lyrics tell of death, darkness and hatred for Christianity. Really, nothing groundbreaking in that department and there's no need for it to be any other way. The production was done by Peter Tägtgren in Abyss studios, yet it doesn't have the annoying sound that many of his later efforts have. Everything was done well enough and I can't really complain about the production. While I would not call this a classic album or rate it up with The Somberlain, I can recommend this as a solid piece of Black Metal history. There are some great riffs contained in this album and if you manage to run across a copy, definitely pick it up.
