Mork – Svartmalt

MORK

‘Katedralen’

Peaceville Records

Black Metal

Darkthrone, Taake, Satyricon, Kampfar, Sarke

The winter has been particularly biting this year and it is no surprise that Mork have wandered in from the blizzard to bring their brand of black metal to warm our bones by the fireside. The Norwegian band have recently hit somewhat of a creative spree and no guesses, this spree continues with their latest album ‘Katedralen’.

                Once again, Mork lay their stall out early with ‘Katedralen’ with the driving black metal rhythms that fans of the band have come to expect. This means that the listener gets an album of thundering blast beats, thrashing guitars and raw vocals all courtesy of Mork mastermind Thomas Eriksen who delivers each passage with the integrity and passion needed to stand out within this genre. This is all wrapped up and delivered through a sleek production that although contemporary, harks back to the raw golden days of the second wave of black metal which is more than enough to get old-school black metal fans drooling. If this isn’t enough for you, then the tracks ‘Arv’ and ‘Svaltmalt’ feature Norwegian black metal royalty in the shape of Nocturno Culto as well as esteemed visits from Dolk and Eero Pöyry.

                When all is said and done, there isn’t anything here that hasn’t been done before by any other black metal band. However, Mork deliver ‘Katedralen’ with a real honesty that stretches beyond the realms of genericism and makes this album actually, very, very enjoyable.

Adam McCann