It’s been a while since I’ve had the time to write a review on here, so I’m going to ease myself in gently… with an album that I’ve listened to a fair amount of times since buying it.

I found out about Hrafnblóð thanks to Peacekeeper’s post on the Metal Tavern forum. I trust her judgement completely, so I had no problem with ordering the album without really having a prior listen to the band. Plus, it was damn cheap.

Hrafnblóð is a one-man extreme metal project (I’m never sure if these kinds of things are ‘projects’ or ‘bands’… Does it matter? Is there a difference? Answers in the comments box below, please) and, as such, is an uncompromising piece of work. With only himself to answer to, Gareth (Hrafnblóð himself) is free to explore his audio adventures without any limitations. The result is an intense and disturbing album – and we’re warned of its disturbing nature in the spoken word bit right at the beginning.

Before listening to Hrafnblóð, I jumped to the conclusion that the music on “Heathen Psalms” would be Black Metal. For some reason the imagery on the band’s websites put that idea into my little brain and it stuck there, stubbornly clinging on and sticking its festering tongue out at any forms of open-mindedness that dared to wander too close. However, “Heathen Psalms” is not merely a Black Metal album (although, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing) – instead it hops quite comfortably between Black and Death Metal, successfully drowning the listener in a wall of sound. Angry, dirty sounds. The tone of this thing is as filthy as a tramp’s big toe.

“Heathen Psalms”, as a whole, is an album that I can listen to again and again (and again and again). And I do… However, I do have one little teeny tiny issue with it… And, in fact, this issue only depends on what kind of mood I’m in at the time of listening. The production is a little off in places, making for a drum-machine focused recording. This occurs mainly in “Last of a Dying Breed” – which is a shame since, otherwise, that is a beast of a track. I’ve found that this is especially noticable through headphones, but sounds a lot better through speakers. So, my solution is: PLAY IT LOUD. Let your neighbours enjoy it. They’ll love it! They’ll be banging on the wall / ceiling with joy! Simples! But, like I said – for me – this is a mood thing. Sometimes the low-fi production suits my misanthropic mood. Which is nice…

Other than that itty bitty little issue, this is a great album. Just check out “The Spirit of Fyrnsidu” or “Ashes of Tyranny”… or “Last of a Dying Breed” (like I said before, it’s a good track) for some examples of the kind of noise that helps me make it through a day without pummelling someone’s head in with a stapler. Remember kids, music like this saves lives.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that lyrically the album draws influence from Pagan and Heathen subjects… but, I will admit that I haven’t looked into it. To be honest, I’m not overly bothered as I’ve already reached the stage where I have applied my own meanings to the songs. I’m particularly pleased with the calming influence it has over me – despite it barrelling along like a possessed wilderbeast in places.

There are two things that I really love about the album:

1. The overall filthy sound.
2. The ominous feeling that stalks you throughout the 9 tracks.

The combination of those two things means that the album gets the honour of being placed in my “This is rather awesome” pile.

Have a listen:

Rating: 95%

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