ALBUM REVIEW: Mork – Dypet


 

At this point, I’m really not sure if Norwegians are resilient, tough, or just plain masochistic. Three months into a year that has already seen record-low temperatures set across the globe and they seem quite happy to let it stay that way. Forget thoughts of spring or summer, Thomas Eriksen, the mastermind behind black metal act Mork, seemingly wants the world to remain in perpetual winter, grimmer and more frostbitten than your average Immortal video.

 

The sixth studio from a band whose name literally means “dark” in English, Dypet (Peaceville) keeps things suitably gloomy, the title translating to either “abyss” or “the depths” depending on where you look. Either way, not exactly a place that you think would allow for shirtless frolicking among the grassy meadows.

 

This latest slab of freezing black metal opens with ‘Indre Demoner’ (Inner Demons). A slow, brooding intro consisting of just two simple, lightly distorted notes, the song soon changes gear, switching to a melodic groove before transforming again into a full-on icy blast of riffs and snarling aggression. The excellent ‘Forført av Kulden’ (Seduced by the Cold) follows with a slow melancholic vibe before the album hits greater heights with the savage yet fiercely melodic folky strains of ‘Svik’ (Betrayal).

 

Cold, labyrinthine passages are intensified by Eriksen’s inhuman vocals as the ritualistic horror of ‘Et Kall Fra Dypet’ (A Call From the Depths) delivers a Nordic spin on H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, the storytelling of a shadowy cult who worship a mythical sea ghost called the ‘Draugen’.

 

Elsewhere, the tortuous delirium of ‘Høye Murer’ features a guest appearance from Erlend Hjelvik, the former singer of Kverletak, ‘Bortgang’ boasts a slow and methodical groove while ‘Avskum’ (unsurprisingly translating to “Scum”) is every bit as fast and aggressive as you would expect before the album concludes with the climactic surge of ‘Tilbake til Opprinnelsen’.

 

Satyricon and Enslaved influences abound but only for the good. Gothic elements are dropped in every now and again, most noticeably on ‘Forført av Kulden’, and the quality and importance of Eriksen’s four-string work cannot be understated. Ascending and descending basslines throb and pulse throughout, counterbalancing the icily distorted riffs, atmospheric synths, and, of course, the occasional sound of piercing, swirling winds. Because you always need a reminder that Norway is cold.

 

Containing huge, frozen earworms and hooks made from sharpened stalactites, Dypet is an icy tundra of frigid black metal sure to chill even the warmest of souls.

 

Buy the album here:

https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/dypet

 

8 / 10

GARY ALCOCK