Review: Doedsvangr “Satan ov Suns”

Doedsvangr “Satan ov Suns”
Immortal Frost Productions

Doedsvangr may be a relative newcomer to the tortured ranks of Scandi black metal, but its three poisoned protagonists are no mere novices; that’s for sure. In fact you could hardly assemble a more esteemed bunch of satanic sympathisers to form a band that blends the very best what Norwegian and Finnish dark metal has to offer.

Doedsadmiral is something of a prodigious performer in every sense and will be familiar to those who have had their blackened hearts touched by the likes of Nordjevel and Enepsigos. Not content with his assorted black metal commitments to a plethora of hate-filled acts, Doedsadmiral decided there was still a window in his life for one more vision of evil and that has developed into the impressively disfigured form of Doedsvangr.

Having recruited Anti Christian of Tsjuder to provide the furious percussive soundtrack to his diatribe of devilish laments it was only left for the irascible Shatraug (Horna, Behexen) to complete the trio by adding his not inconsiderable presence to Doedsvangr’s darkened ranks.

Satan ov Suns is the first full length consequence of this marriage of three like-minded souls and it’s no surprise to see the spiritual blessing conducted by Immortal Frost Productions who have a thriving rostrum packed with blackened gems, not least among them Ars Veneficium, From The Vastland and Khaospath.

Depending on your language of choice Doedsvangr can mean either ‘Fields of death’ or ‘dead womb,’ either way fairly grim subject matter and that is more than reflected by the aural apocalypse the twisted triumvirate whip up on Satan ov Suns.

Opener ‘Our Lord Cometh’! rolls out out the antiquated ambience with a scorched sheet of bludgeoning blackened riffs pulled tight overhead. Doedsadmiral’s distinctive feral barks carry the authentic Nordic stamp of approval while Anti Christian pummels his kit mercilessly.

On ‘Rituals’ the fearsome riffload verges on a machinegun frenzy while on the mighty self-proclaiming anthem ‘Doedsvangr’  the strength and command of the band really begins to assert as a massive overload of sound gushes forth under a repetitive nihilistic beat with Doedsadmiral ruling the roost with his belched out tones.

While raising from the graves many former Norwegian black metal outfits, Doedsvangr are no mere copycats and they have more than enough about their sound to keep you gripped. Songs such as ‘Diaboli’ are well structured with periods of slowed down instrumental sections sitting within more outlandish outbursts. But the overall blasphemous barbs are never from the surface, although to be more precise they’re sitting on top most of the time.

Look no further for reaffirmation than the cold winds that blow across this bleeding landscape than the heraldic ‘Breath of Lucifer’ in which Shatraug runs amok with a juggernaut of a riff that will have you on your knees begging for mercy. When Doedsadmiral cries out “Fireeeee!” you almost turn to make sure there’s an extinguisher to hand in case the whole thing go ups like a medieval inferno.

With ‘Blood Whores’ Anti Christian gives his limbs a serious workout as the blastbeats land at an ever escalating pace, with Shatraug superbly providing the rifled rhythmic accompaniment that breathes life into an otherwise deadly domain.

One rasping roar from Doedsadmiral opens up the rousing album closer ‘Black Sun Nimbus’ in which the three leathered firebreathers unite for one final sonic strike, slaying down the dissenters with their chiselled grooves firmly embedded with the Luciferian stamp of approval.

Sun ov Satan is a captivating ungodly debut release from Doedsvangr. Just to acknowledge, the 11 tracks were recorded at Velvet Recording in Spydeberg with Christer Krohg, with drums recorded at Klang Studios in Oslo with Bjarne Stensli. The highly impressive artwork that holds your attention while allowing the evil juices to enter your pores is the warped work of Khaos Diktator Design.