COLD NORTHERN BREEZE is honoured to release the brandnew AVERTIA album entitled "Nightmare Returns". Born back in 2009 with already three full-length outputs under their armour, the Bergen (Vestland) located army became well-known in the Norwegian scene for their blend of old fashioned midtempo 90´s Black Metal and classical 80´s Heavy Metal. With the release of their fourth record "Midnight Returns" AVERTIA takes the next step by soiling their melodic clean cold sound with traditional Old School Nekro vibes and Pagan rhythms. Get ready for some unique Norwegian Black Metal along the lines of early KAMPFAR, PERISHED, WINDIR, FORLORN infiltrated with CARPATHIAN FOREST and DARKTHRONE filth, finalized with headbanging NWOBHM riffing.
Pro-replicated CD manufactured with a glasmaster (no CDr). Packed in a 6-panel glossy Digipack and wrapped up in shrink foil. Strictly limited to 300 copies including handnumbered and stamped CNB certificate.
KGN: Songwriting, lyrics, vocals, guitars.
Gøran Basso: Bass
Kacper Sliwa: Drums
Anders "Fjøsnisse" Vada: Mixing and mastering
The metal landscape that only few dare to tread, known as, black metal, is a genre that is quite a niche one. Within this genre, bands either fall by the way side and blink into obscurity, keep within the mediocre realms of the ones who almost made it, but fell short, and then there's the ones that broke out due to their longevity in the scene or just managed to capture lightning in a bottle with their music and unleashed it upon the masses. Avertia is a band that falls within the realms of capturing that lightning and has been busy tending to said lightning and slowly releasing a bit of it at a time to harness it over time, allowing it to build and recharge with each new release of theirs, and with their fourth release, Midnight Returns, the lighting is swelling up again and ready to burst forth. So, let's ride that lightning and dig into this new album of theirs and see what's been building up within the band as they unleash these new songs on to the black metal hordes.
We begin this cold, dark journey in to the caverns of black metal with the album intro piece, Ild Og Regn. A lonely fire burns and crackles alongside some somber acoustics strumming, setting the scene for what's to come before the peaceful serenity is interrupted by the classic cacophony of frigid black metal of old. The following track, Snakkes I Helvete harkens back to the days of black metal legends who created the scene as we know it today. This is my kind of black metal! The guitars have that, Chainsaw Gutsfuck sound but albeit, has more melody and harmonies strewn about the track, which is a most welcome addition to this genre of metal. As the song pushes onward, we are treated to some creative drumwork and several mood and tempo changes that showcase Avertia's attention to song structure and detail within their music. They could have blasted away to their dark heart's content, but they seem to know how to use a good tremolo picked riff and blast beat for good effect to really drive the point of the song home, and I really appreciate that. Too many black metal bands rely solely on those things mentioned just to sound brutal, when in reality, using it sparingly and at just the right moments truly does heighten a songs presence and lift it up for the listeners experience. Fantastic job with these opening tracks here.
Dark Patterns is up next and it is scratching that traditional black metal itch that I have had growing lately. I hate summer, I hate the warmer months, I yearn for colder seasons with darker weather and mood setting atmosphere. Those are the perfect times for black metal, and this is the perfect type of black metal for such seasons. The almost depressive yet brutally heavy blasting of the riffs are used fantastically well here as the guitars blend layers of harmonies over punishing drums and gut wrenchingly painful vocals. You can just feel the ice in your veins as the music builds in intensity and the guitar solo comes in to further inject more raw emotion to this track. THIS is black metal of some high caliber being played right here! It is very rare that a black metal band utilizes such great use of guitar harmonies and plays guitar solos that are well thought out and structured, rather than just the typical Slayer type noise solos(I love Slayer, but let's be honest here, like 90% of their solos are just noise). This is the shit I have been in the mood for, I strongly urge all of you to stop reading this right now and head on over to their bandcamp and check this track out, it's fanfuckingtastic!
After such a dark treat that track was, we are now in the throes of Avfeldig. This track has some emotive power to it! I put this one up there with the likes of Dissection or Satyricon. With riffs that evoke such raw emotions and vocals that feel as though death is right around the corner and all hope is lost, Avfeldig seems like a magnum opus type approach to song writing for Avertia, a song to end all while leaving you feeling like you are ready for more pain, no matter how severe it may be. A constant feeling of something building up into something much bigger washes over you as the song ascends and abruptly crashes to an end, yet seemingly flows right in to the following track, Light Of Our Dying Sun.
Light Of Our Dying Sun is a track that feels like a part of a musical movement attached to the previous track. Full of more of Avertia's harmonies and layers of guitars filling the space of the caverns that is their black metal craft, Light Of Our Dying Sun is a intense ride of a multitude of changing emotions and energy. Equal parts serene in it's own black metal ways, and equal parts brutal with the tempo changes and furious riffs playing alongside some intense drumming. This song seems to dip in to the bands tool box and brings a little bit of everything to the table for us to enjoy. In terms of song writing, this track might be the strongest offering on this release, the attention to detail I mentioned earlier is ever present in this song and highlights key moments of the track when more intensity or passion is needed, and when those moments come in, Avertia delivers ten fold! This is one powerful song here from beginning to end! And speaking of "end", the end of this song absolutely crushes it! Hell yeah! I'd love to see that live!
As we reach the end of this release, I am left with a sense of wanting, wanting more. This album has been wonderful to listen to from the moment I pressed play. I am extremely thankful that they reached out to me for a review, genuinely thankful. The final track off this amazing release is titled, I Mulm Og Morke. A slower paced song that moves back and forth between the shadows of despair and the more energetic riffing of black metal mastery, Avertia once again delivers unto us another great song with many twists and turns on the scales of emotions and power. The drums keep things upbeat and tight while the riffs move and dance like shadows behind a fires light. This is one of those tracks that you can get lost in, in a good way, a song that you just put on repeat and go for a long walk to nowhere, just getting lost in the music and in your thoughts. A fantastic travel companion for those suffering from wanderlust. This was a perfect album closer for this type of black metal and I couldn't have asked for anything better than I Mulm Og Morke, it was the icing on this black metal cake.
Avertia, where the fuck have you been my entire life? This is some seriously good music here! Black metal can definitely be one of those genres where bands can easily miss the mark and make a mockery of the genre itself, but Avertia seems to have a way that they play to the raw emotions of the scene and pays tribute to the black metal gods of old. Avertia plays with a sense of respect for the black metal scene and what it truly stands for, there is no over the top theatrics to garner attention, there's no mindless music that blasts away until all the riffs sound like icy mud within the mix, there's no bullshit here, no, there are memorable riffs, movements and sections of songs that feel alive and full of passion, moments that give your soul chills, and all the while remaining heavy in that empty despair and depravity kind of way that makes true black metal, "heavy". This album is just awesome and I can't recommend it enough for anyone who is looking for something new in the black metal scene or for anyone looking for a good starting off point to get in to some solid black metal. Midnight Returns is a powerful 9 out of 10 for me and will fit in with ANY black metal fans collection with ease! There's just something about the way they string together their riffs and movements and the pieces of songs within their music's structure itself that really stands out to me and speaks to my own blackened soul. If you'd like to hear what I am speaking about, then head on over to their bandcamp page here and give them a listen for yourself, and please do follow them on their social media pages and show them your support, you will have no regrets! Midnight Returns is proof that black metal is in good hands, and this album needs to be in the hands of every one of us who are fans of black metal! Hail, Avertia!
Sample:
&t=1374s
