Svederna - Äntra
Author: Alessio Skogen Algiz
(Self, 2013)#FOR FANS OF: Black Old School
Svederna comes from Varmland, a county located in the west-central Sweden. Three years have passed from the releasing of this wonderful full-length entitled 'Antra'. Despite their immense compositional skills, they haven't found yet a label interested to produce their debut album and I just think this is quite absurd. Released on cassette only, self-produced and limited to 50 copies, 'Antra' is one of the best albums I have recently listened to. It is a sort of black metal that reminds the sound of other swedish bands Skogen, Stilla and Armagedda, but also the one of Norwegian Kampfar and early Vintersorg. Even if these are bands that need no introduction they aren't any better than Svederna. 'Antra', flowing along its 42 minutes, proves to be a compact album, well-designed, very direct; in fact, along the trip we can travel on rough and iced roads directed to the most furious and traditional black metal, made of massive riffs with a perfect balance between power and melody. The matrix is clearly Swedish but the originality and efficacy have no terms of comparison and are constant for the entire length of this release. To increase the strength, there is a powerful drums played in an exemplary manner able to alternate mid tempos to sudden and furious blast beats, which penetrate every fiber of your muscles, thanks to a decisive bass accompaniment too. In this emotional journey, I was also kidnapped by delicate moments representative of ancient wisdom: acoustic guitars, choirs and ambient contribute to enrich the whole sound providing charm and mystery. Among my favourite songs there are the third track, "Återvändlöshet," the longest song of 'Antra' which concludes the A-side and "Naturligt Vis" the first of the B-side, a song extremely evocative, maybe the most successful of those included in the release. The album has an excellent recording, full and clear, which exalts the spirit and the capabilities of the band. If despite these qualities you are still waiting for some shortcomings, nevermind. You won't be able to find issues here, even analyzing the lyrics sung by roaring and lashing voices, almost "criminal"; indeed, I can say that they are well written, rich of many hidden references and vaguely cryptic with a central theme on the anti-stabilization, a different and perhaps more original way to say "anti-human". For further details/insights on this subject please refer to the band's official website (www.svederna.se) where you can find a translation from Swedish to German and English. 'Antra' is a treasure chest containing the power and the elegance of a band that has created a true masterpiece, a great work recommended to all lovers of pure and uncontaminated black metal, the one has not stopped to linger in the snowy forests with his pale and sepulchral glow. (Translated by Francesco Scarci)
