Artist: Fienden
Country: Sweden
Label: Self-Released
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2025
Everyone willing to dig just a little deeper than your average Black Metal band gaining their five minutes of fame through Black Metal Promotion, will know that there’s still an ever flowing stream of more obscure demo tapes waiting to be discovered. Obviously, not all of them are equally good or interesting, but every now and then you’ll encounter a true gem that blows your mind. I tend to keep up as good as possible with what the underground has to offer, but the huge amounts of material that’s being released every single week makes it just impossible to be on top of everything. Yet, I am very happy that I have stumbled upon ‘Till Er – Demo 2025’, the debut demo tape of a new Swedish Black Metal band called Fienden.
When I found this demo tape on Bandcamp I have heard it a couple of times (it’s playing time just hits the 17-minute mark) before I went on a little researching hike through the interwebs. I discovered that Fienden is the brainchild of a duo, one of whose names particularly caught my attention. None other than Yonas “Mörk” Lindskog is the riff master on duty here. Although his name may not ring a bell with everyone, it only made me more enthusiastic, and with a subsequent listen, even more pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Mörk is best known for his work in the excellent and criminally underrated Malign, but he has also been part of the line-ups of Triumphator, Watain, and Svartsyn, among others.
I wouldn’t go as far as stating that Fienden solely evolves around Mörk’s signature riffs and playing style, but everyone who is familiar with Malign will definitely recognize his presence. Yet, as a whole, Fienden is quite a bit more diverse and dynamic than the majority of Malign’s work. A heavy thumping bass gives the whole thing a rocking experience, but the occasional clean vocals adds a good sense of Pagan melodicism to the music as well. As a result, it feels a bit like as if there’s bits and pieces of the first two Satyricon and Carpathian Forest albums were poured in the otherwise still very Swedish sounding mold.
Regardless from what direction you are approaching Fienden’s first offering, it is definitely a very strong start and it is very obvious that these two guys are not quite new to the business. The line-up information I was able to find doesn’t mention a drummer by the way (and it doesn’t sound programed), but his creative input is definitely not be understated either. The interesting fills and dynamic grooves in the drums are a true treat to the ear and even lifts the level of the music up a notch. One of the best demos I’ve heard this year, for sure.
