Review: DARK FUNERAL “Where Shadows Forever Reign”

DARK FUNERAL “Where Shadows Forever Reign”
Century Media records

It’s time for Swedish Gods of Black Metal and their newest masterpiece! I used word “Gods” coz in my opinion quartette from Stockholm is one of fundamental bands for this sub-genre of Metal and nothing will change it. As everyone knows it was formed in 1993 and there play only one member of first line-up – Lord Ahriman (Mikael Svanberg – guit and since few months – bass). Rest of guys: Chaq Mol (Bo Karlsson – guit), Dominator (Nils Fjellström – dr) and Heljarmadr (Andreas Vingbäck – voc) joined him earlier or later. The youngest when we speak about internship in the band is vocalist.

Fans of DARK FUNERAL had to wait for “Where Shadows Forever Reign” long seven years. The fact is that after releasing last album they could enjoy boxed set “In the Sign… / The Secrets of the Black Arts” and “Nail Them To the Cross”, but there was mostly old songs, so… But this year finally there’s a new album! It contains nine songs of Black Metal which all know very well from previous works of Swedes. Of course if we’d analyze music very carefully (note after note) we’d surely find some differences between this and any other release – for example that here we have more or less fast or slower parts, etc. in comparison with this or another album, EP. But this is just natural progression of every band. Otherwise there wouldn’t be sense to record next and next albums, or what?!?

By the way, riffs are rather fast, short and quite changeless what doesn’t mean that easy to play. Guitarists don’t have to play some technical contortion to proof that they’re good musicians. Besides it’d go together with common character of music like a square peg in a round hole! From time to time we have moments of relative calm and melodic ones. In “The eternal Eclipse” or “To Carve Another Wound” they’re even dominating, I think.  Anyway, in other songs they happen also often. Drums play in various and technical way. There’re both fast and slower parts. Passages sound maybe easy, but… It’s the same as in case of guitars or bass – character of Black Metal is as it is.

We have of course vocal here, too. Otherwise Heljarmadr wouldn’t be in a band, don’t you?!? He uses typical for music like that spawn mostly. Well, except some rarely and short (few phrases maximum) moments of recitation we hear it all the time. So somebody could say that this is typical album of DARK FUNERAL and there’s nothing special om that. Well, probably that’s truth. But who cares if it’s so great?!?

For anybody who thinks that is fan of Black Art, worshiping Him, glorification of death and Armageddon it’s just a must!!!