Nåstrond - Muspellz Synir (2008)

Nåstrond gives us a pretty weird release in general. I have not heard this band before and after reading that their lyrics are Egyptian and Occultism related I was looking forward to listening to this release. But to my surprise it’s not up to par with other releases from Moribund records, while it’s ‘different’ it’s not the good type of different.

The 2 man band plays a weird mixture of black metal, ambient and even some hints of doom metal. Don’t get me wrong I’m all about listening to new interesting mixtures of genres. But Nåstrond fails to deliver, since the album is not cohesive enough. All the tracks feel like they where put together in installments of 2-3 tracks intended for an EP.

Musically wise, there are few passages that are truly eerie and chilling but they quickly grow boring after repeating them too much. Think of funeral doom metal style repetitive music, but with repetitive slow black metal parts. And the whole album continues like this. The vocals are like a slow growl that blends well with the music with the occasional painful moans, but it would put anybody to sleep, especially if you are expecting something more intense.

I can’t say it has much musical merit, other than attempting to fuse different styles and failing at it. At least the recording quality of the album is pretty decent and you can hear every detail the band recorded. The atmosphere created is very gritty and in parts chilling but the whole combination

This is a release that will probably make no impact on the scene, but it might satisfy the band’s fan base.

Country: Sweden