Artist: Wyvern
Country: The Netherlands
Label: Heidens Hart Records
Formats: CD EP
Year: 2023
After the two demo tapes from 2019 and 2020, both of which saw the light of day via Tour de Garde and Zwartkunst Smederij, the mysterious entity Wyvern comes out with a new feat, a mini CD via Dutch Heidens Hart Records. Rather unexpectedly too, should you have heard both tapes at all, this band’s name had surely faded back into the background in recent years. Well, the Wyvern recordings may not follow each other in quick succession, but that doesn’t detract from the quality of what’s on offer, perhaps even on the very contrary.
A Wyvern is a mythical creature that was usually depicted as a flying snake or reptile and is in fact related to the European version of the dragon. This theme is carried further on this EP in the title, which translates to English as ‘Dragon Killer’ or ‘Dragon Slayer’. But most importantly, the theme also shines through in the music, just like on the aforementioned two demo tapes. Wyvern still stands firm for fantasy-driven, medieval Black Metal.
However, compared to those two demos, the band did make a substantial change, but that focuses first and foremost on the sound. Both ‘Vuurmagiër’ (2019) and ‘IJsenheer’ (2020) are characterised by its deep-rooted underground production. Although the six compositions on ‘Drakendoder’ (together accounting for 25 minutes) are no different in musical intent from those on its predecessors, the updated sound just definitely makes them easier to fathom. The thick layers of keyboards carry the music, more than the guitars, that play a somewhat secondary role, and give the compositions an obvious mid-90s feel. In fact, the music is best described as a well-balanced mix between melodic Norwegian Black Metal (Ancient, Gehenna, Obtained Enslavement) and second-generation German Black Metal. Heidens Hart Records itself cites Mjölnir and Grausamkeit, among others; I can certainly live with these two references. All in all, it amounts to something not too far removed from whatever Drowning The Light brings to the table; the sharp, raspy vocals, reminiscent of Azgorh’s, are also certainly partly to blame for this comparison. But it is mainly the sense of melancholy and atmospheric compositions with a Pagan feel that are similar to that highly prolific, Australian act.
While a change of sound not infrequently leads to discussions, with one person favouring the rawer approach and another extolling the brighter production, I think that, leaving the whole taste-related point of contention in the middle, there is no doubt anyway that Wyvern have outdone themselves on a compositional level. The atmosphere on this EP is going to be one that fans of the more nostalgic sort of Black Metal will love to soak up. ‘Drakendoder’ has so far only been released as a mini CD, but these recordings would certainly not look out of place on a nice piece of black vinyl…
