The children keep dying and returning to the cradle. Teeth shine between timbers and lights dance on marshes. Whose hand closed the wicket? Why is the last apple moving? The kindling still catch fire, but the potency of the black arts seems to have waned of late. Smoke always escapes.
With those words the Nortwegian band ILD announce their second album Kvern, which is now set for release on November 3rd by Vendetta Records, and then they flesh out those evocative yet cryptic words with a track list that reads as follows (the translations are our own, so blame us for any errors):
1. “Den sorte kunst” (the black art)
2. “Til gjeste” (for guests)
3. “Opp i røyk” (up in smoke)
4. “Det trekker så kaldt” (it’s so cold)
5. “Ognåskaldudø” (even if you die)
6. “Over flammehavet” (over the sea of flame)
The mysteries of the meanings still remain, and frightening mysteries lurk within the music as well, though the moods of them may still be familiar to all who are being slowly ground within the “rusty mill of life” (to pull from Vendetta‘s own preview). And indeed the title of the album itself is the Norwegian word for “grinder”.
What we have for you today is the premiere of a video made by by Likskue Productions for the album’s opening track, “Den sorte kunst“. It too is mysterious and unsettling, much like the music. In the video we follow the ILD duo through wilderness forests and along river shores, and perhaps also back through time. We see strange carvings and the turn of a grinding mill, and maybe something unseen gives chase.
As mentioned before, the song itself is unearthly and frightening. It draws the listener in, almost like a spell, and then sends chilling shivers down the spine.
Scratchy sizzling sounds, like burning embers, course through the song, along with muscular bass lines and drums that alternately thunder and stalk. Orchestral and organ-like shimmerings lift the song upward, flowing into mystical planes, but horrid howls, beastly snarls, and ghastly gasps bring fear and ferocity within this haunting realm.
The song’s undercurrents of abrasion and its visceral rhythms continue to contrast with the sweeping strangeness and freezing splendors in the music’s upper reaches. It’s easy to get lost in what’s happening, but the feeling is inescapable that something’s not right, that something hostile is breathing down your neck.
ILD consists of H (strings and vocals), who founded the band in 2020, and X (drums and keys), who joined in 2022.
Kvern was recorded at Klyve lydstudio in Skien, Telemark, produced by ILD and Per Sælør, and mastered by Likskue Productions.
As mentioned, the album will be released on the 3rd of November by Vendetta Records, on LP, CD, and cassette tape formats. There will be no preorders, so circle your calkendars.
VENDETTA RECORDS:
https://www.facebook.com/vendettacult
https://vendetta-records.com/
ILD:
Website: https://ildebrann.no
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ildebrann
Bandcamp: https://ildebrann.bandcamp.com
