Runemagick "Darkness Death Doom" CD Digipack

Descripción This is probably the best Runemagick album I’ve heard – though they have so many albums that I honestly haven’t heard them all. They just seemed to have this insatiable lust to put out intense, arcane and atmospheric metal music. This album was one of the earliest ones that showed them foraging the kind of inimitable, fearless blend of death and doom that they’d continue on a several-album tear for most of the 2000s.

Darkness Death Doom is just a satisfying workout. This thing is full of chugging, mid-tempo riffs that sound like stuff scavenged from an alternate universe where Celtic Frost just got heavier and heavier instead of petering out for long stretches of time. The production is fantastic, with this real dark but warm tone that lends the album a unique feeling; it’s not just the same old Swedeath thing or something so murky that it just sounds like it came from the same cavern as so many other bands. Band leader Nicklass Rudolfsson’s dry, muscular croak is over-top like apocalyptic narration and the rhythm section is cool and eclectic.

The strength here is that the writing is so evocative and colorful. All the songs are different. Opener “Ancient Incantations” oozes out of the speakers like a ritual reading, and epics like “Eyes Of Kali” and “The Venom” just murder you with great, epic riffing. The keyboard refrain on “Doomed” is cool as fuck and closer “Winter” is the doomiest song on offer. The fluidity in the writing is a big reason it works - they jump from doomy, fuzz-covered trudges to lethal upbeat hard-hitting riffs and even throw in some classic metal leads to keep things entertaining. And "Eternal Dark" has some stoner-y spacey parts that feel like you're drifting out into the aether.

The lyrics are all really cool – just direct, to the point and full of cool occult references and storytelling:

Like a snake from the underworld
Filled with venom you rise
Awaken by rituals unknown for man
Your secret past is hidden for all time

“Direct” and “to the point” are the main qualities here I think. Despite its long length, it’s a very bare-bones album, and I like that they don’t try to do it up with all kinds of extra stuff. It's just sharp, epic writing. They just like riffs. Runemagick’s whole ethos is “OK, let’s just do some cool dark stuff now.” The riffs are first-rate and the songs are generous with them, enough so to get you fat and gluttonous, and if you like stuff that will take you to weird, horrific realms with its atmosphere, Runemagick know what you need. You pretty much know whether this is for you by now, so make a choice and go get it if you like underground, evil shit with integrity.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX1TVZQTtjo&t=1356s