Svartlod – God Plague
Sweden’s Svartlod is a relatively new band caught by my radar some time ago. Their first record The Reverend was a decent debut and after only a year, Swedish duo is back with a new EP called God Plague. There are four new songs inspired by the real life events of a priest in Sweden during the 1800’s who poisoned some of the members of his congregation for unknown reasons as he took his own life whilst in jail. Pretty striking theme.
Its not the fastest, most aggressive black metal out there but I really enjoyed the direct approach with a focus on dynamic songwriting. Sinister riffs combined with more meaty chuggings and there are several moments where synth. take charge to create a more atmospheric feel, like towards the end of Sermon For The Only Begotten Son. The thrashing Mirabile Dictu & Domkapitel are my fav. for now and I really liked the Watain-esque vibes of the EP in general. Only lowpoint is the mechanical sounding drums, but I’m sure they’ll overcome this problem in time. Overall, Svartlod should not be ignored if you’re into Swedish black metal.
