Artist: Gjendød
Country: Norway
Label: Osmose Productions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
With a pace as menacing and relentless as their Black Metal, Gjendød returns with their latest full-length ‘Svekkelse’. Once again, the Norwegian three-headed serpent presents their sixth album, and fourth in the last five years, on the legendary Osmose Productions. And quite frankly, it is all you could hope and wish for in a Gjendød record.
Past Gjendød albums tended to take on a different angle than their predecessors, exploring different region of traditional Black Metal. With ‘Svekkelse’ the band has stayed closer to the preceding record, the rather excellent ‘Livskramper’. That means the music is still wild, intense with a rich bass sound, meandering riffs and an at times epic atmosphere that reminds me of a mix of Gorgoroth with Ulver, Borknagar and Taake. Take for instance ‘Lykkens Bortgang’, a frantically blasting track that still carries an open atmosphere, an epic undertone and some psychedelic keyboards in the vein of later Enslaved. Gjendød have always excelled at letting the riffs do the talking, and the new album is no different. Though certainly not simplistic, even rather complex, in nature, they are easy to follow and are highly memorable. Such is clear in the chopping and chugging ‘Maktens Sødme’, a frantic song that contains multiple melodic solos showcasing the band members’ excelling musical skills. Despite the epic nature, Gjendød is first and foremost gnarly in appearance, as is clear as the album progresses.
‘Uten Nåde’ is darker and more glooming, with pull-up riffs adding an unsettling touch. At that point most of the tracks are very much uptempo, but that changes with the, quite frankly brilliant, ‘En Staur i Hjertet’. A slower, more dragging track with a Leviathan-like effect over the vocals, the song is utterly bleak and melancholic, meandering and gripping. Catchy, romantic almost, but pitchblack and depressing, it comes closest to the beautiful atmospheric Black Metal the band displayed on ‘I Utakt med Verden’. The pace then increases once again in ‘En Elv av Kjøtt’, although acoustic breaks call forth that connection to Borknagar and Ulver. A feeling that grows even stronger when the song twists in more progressive direction, solos and a clean vocal choir appears. Through the crawling and suffocating ‘Likvekkelsen’ with its nasty riffs and twisted vocals, to the epic spoken intro of ‘Med Fjell av Åte’ that escalates into ferocity, the album ends with ‘Den Falske Råte’. A calm intro twists into typical Darkthrone riffs, open tones and a slow end with entrancing melodies. Each of these elements in every single song makes it clear: Gjendød is a band to cherish.
The energy, the intensity, the creativity and the beauty, ‘Svekkelse’ piles highlight upon highlight. Gjendød like almost no other combines all the glory from the rich Norwegian Black Metal tradition into something familiar yet oh so their own. At a pace that’s almost bewildering the band continues to release stellar records, with zero compromises and 100% dedication and quality.
