I’ve been waiting for Blodsgard’s debut album for a long time. When I saw the title and the fantastic cover (conceived by the band and executed by Mark Cooper), I smiled. I wanted something monumental, and it seemed this was Blodsgard’s intent, too.

All told, the album is the result of five years’ of work that included extensive re-writing, re-arranging, and re-mastering. Four of the songs originally appeared on the band’s superb 2011 EP Solve Et Coagula (reviewed here), though they have been re-mastered for the album. Under a different name (“Mitt blod flyter”), the closing track also appeared in 2011 as part of a special limited release that we helped distribute (informally labeled A Taste of Future Darkness), though it has been changed in subtle ways. As far as I know, the other three tracks haven’t previously been made publicly available.

Even if you’re familiar with Solve Et Coagula, Monument will surprise you in its variety and in the extent to which Blodsgard’s sound has continued to evolve. And if this will be your first exposure to Blodsgard, something very special is waiting for you. Continue reading »

This post began, like so many of them do around here, with a recommendation. This recommendation came from a woman who goes by the name Raven Stead. She left a note on our Contact page urging us to listen to a Norwegian black metal band named Blodsgard, and she left links for that purpose.

The first link was to a music video for a song called “Mentalt Minefelt”. The video part of the clip looks like excerpts from a black-and-white silent movie involving nuns, implements of torture, and that fallen angel we’ve heard so much about for millennia, but who knows. What thoroughly grabbed me, however, was not the pictorial part of the video but the music. So I listened to the other songs for which Raven provided links, and fell for it like a chainsawed fir tree reaching for the ground. Just fucking cut off at the roots.

That led to a correspondence with Raven, who has been working as a U.S. representative of the band, which in turn led to downloads of Blodsgard’s music (including several songs that will appear on the band’s debut album) and ultimately to a treat we’re now able to provide NCS readers — a link for the download of new music from this killer band. It’s funny how things work out sometimes if you just go with the flow, particularly when the flow leads to music that so thoroughly seizes your interest, as Blodsgard has for me.

This band started life in 2006 under the direction of Blodsgard’s songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Fredrik R and now includes drummer Kenneth Mellum (Formloff, Scarvest, Myrkgrav, Mistur) and lyricist Stein Akslen. In its earliest incarnation, Blodsgard created a full-length demo called Nuclear Extinction. Initially, it was created in extremely limited supply for fans, and it sold out quickly, though the band have now made it available for download via their web site. (more after the jump  . . .) Continue reading »