Saturday, November 19, 2016

Ildjarn - 2002 - 1992-1995

Out of Norway comes Ildjarn, the essence of aggression put to tape. The music hardly has an equal, and can't really be compared to much else. Here we are presented with a mix between the simplicity of Punk and the aggression of Black Metal. The only band that Ildjarn himself was not involved with sounding anything similar would be Ødelegger on the End of Tides album, and to some extent Bone Awl, though there is more variation in their music. 28 tracks and 72 minutes is what we get here, all recorded, to everyones surprise, during the years 1992-1995. This is somewhat of a best of from this productive era, with a few previously unreleased tracks thrown in for good measure. The thing with this one man band is the genious simplicity and repetition that makes out the tracks. Two to three different riffs repeated for about as many minutes, with monotonous yet oh so effective minimalistic drums and hate filled vocals. The music is, more often than not, mid-paced to fast.

The production is filthy and raw, adding to the hate emanating from this album. Despite this you can hear all the instruments. The guitars and the drums are the driving force, with the vocals also being in the front. This is extreme in its aggression and simplicity, certainly not music for everyone, but if you understand it you will cherish it, and return to it again and again. If you haven't really heard any Ildjarn before this is a good album to start with, along with Det Frysende Nordariket, both being compilations of tracks from different recordings. Many of the compositions on this album are pure genious. As with all Ildjarn releases this is limited.

Standout tracks are "Dark December", "Kronet", "Whispering Breeze", "Inanimate", "Taakeheim",
"Skogssvinet", "Utsyn 3" and "Krigere", with "Skogssvinet" and "Krigere" being essential Ildjarn.

Wednesday January 18 2006, by :Vragh:

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