Swedish black metallers Ov Shadows are back with their second full length album “I Djävulens Avbild” their first release on Hypnotic Dirge records.
Their first full length ”The Darkness Between Stars” (2018) was a relentless assault of chaotic black metal, proving that the experience and fluidity the members gained in Gothenburg’s Waning, in which they all played together, would be carried over to this new project. “I Djävulens Avbild” (In the Devil’s Image), continues this trend of filthy black metal.
From the get go with “Den Eld Som Tär och Förvi”, it grabs you and refuses to let go like a hellhound that has escaped from the fiery pits and is intent on dragging you back with it. Within seconds of the album starting itf fast drumming, hollowed vocals and dissonant melodies churning from guitars. The occasional slower interlude like on “Under Dödens Vingar” provides a slight chance of recuperation before you are wrested back into the terror of true Scandinavian black metal.
As expected in a sophomore release, it boasts slightly better production quality, although there wasn’t too much to improve upon from the first release. “I Djävulens Avbild” is an excellent, tumultuous ride of an album. It’s as if the music hunts you, seeping into your ears where it lingers and festers, frantically wrapping your brain with cold tendrils of exasperated guitars, and chilling vocals. Cold, bitter and unapologetic, it’s one of my major contenders for AOTY.
Favourite Track: Blasfemiskt Crescendo
Release Date: August 14, 2020
Label: Hypnotic Dirge
Written for Blessed Altar Zine
