(Below you will find Daniel Barkasi’s review of a new album by the Icelandic band Mannveira which is being released today on Dark Descent Records.)
Black metal contains a tendency, if not a foundational principle, to push the envelope in several facets. Recent times have shown the style to be malleable to all sorts of sonic avenues, a fair number of which have been extremely esteemed in the quality department. It’s of no surprise that – again – we land upon an Icelandic act who is doing that in its own volatile and entirely specific manner.
Mannveira is the subject at hand, and we certainly weren’t expecting a new record in the late embers of this year. However, here we are with Vesöld, the follow-up to the chilling Vítahringur – a work that impressed mightily via its psychedelic tones and obscure atmosphere. It wasn’t clear as to when new music might arrive from this collective, so the announcement of this release was a pleasant surprise indeed.
Quite a cast in the band’s makeup, with Vesöld featuring Altari‘s Óskar Þór Guðjónsson, Forsmán‘s Oddur Blöndal (check our their album from earlier this year), Kviðrista’s Illugi Kristinsson, Naðra‘s Hilmar Gylfi Guðjónsson, and Örlygur Sigurðarson, whose credits include 0 and the aforementioned Naðra. In short, a hell of a group with a wealth of differing musical endeavors in their history, returning to present what is Mannveira’s second LP — a piece that doesn’t stray far from the first, but conversely travels a multitude of freshly compelling paths.
If one is mainly exposed to that geographically small isle’s most aggressive, explosive black metal manifestations, Mannveira is a whole different breed. The tempo is more mid-paced and steady while allowing for numerous variations when called for, as well as firmly cultivating a haunting, ghastly atmosphere as a hallmark trait of their sound. The sort of black metal that’s off-center and magnetic, while at the same time harnessing a serrated edge where it counts.
Proceedings begin with the tense melodicism of “Lygar himinsins” – an almost bouncy but equally fierce affront that grabs the listener’s attention resolutely. Mannveira applies ample amounts of melody in their music, though it’s never peppy or in the classic melodic black approach, but rather disquieting and ghastly. “Þrot” proves even more dizzying, pulsating with delectable bass rhythms and harmonies that dance deftly on one’s fears, urgent and stimulating.
Guitarists Blöndal and Sigurðarson etch quite the elaborate picture; constantly unpredictable and ever confounding, the sensation expressed leaves the audience captivated, if not increasingly horrified as the record strides along. Affirming that feeling is “Af bergi brotin” and “Stormur”, with both boasting a raw aesthetic via stinging, tenacious guitar work, wholly dazzling all witnesses deeper into Mannveira’s already irresistible spell.
Kristinsson’s vocal performance is nothing short of profoundly visceral, with every slight inflection or change in angle landing decisively to make every song that much more engrossing. Not much departed from Vítahringur, which is a certain positive considering the heights achieved there, though his increased confidence in delivery is assuredly felt.
The fiery “Aumingi” is a high water mark both in his passionate voicings and in overall ferocity, invoking a nightmare-inducing drag through the proverbial dirt. The precision is surgical, and the expansive air allows for all kinds of differentiating movements, showing off how dialed-in the songwriting truly is.
The prevailing, oppressive riff that opens the penultimate track “Bölvunin” lands a strong uppercut to the chin; Kristinsson‘s wails sink the blade further, as the track drills through concrete effortlessly like a jackhammer, dishing what is the most virile entry on Vesöld.
The outro sample provides a shiver, setting up the punk-adjacent “Rottur” with an unexpected but altogether bombastic last stretch. There’s a dash of Owls Woods Graves’ heavily blackened punk spin on offer, interlaced with Mannveira‘s own peculiar charms.
Like predecessor Vítahringur, Vesöld comes in at a tight sub-forty-minute runtime, leaving a lean and mean record with zero filler, though we wouldn’t complain if they ever decided to expand their structures further in the future. As it stands, Mannveira remains as a singular oddity in an Icelandic scene that isn’t bereft of this level of ingenuity, where diversifying is an increasingly difficult task that’s taken on here with glowing results.
What we enjoy most about the band and the extremely immersive nature at the center of Vesöld is the breathable but no less poignant direction they’ve carved out for themselves. Though true that the brevity of the record leaves yours truly greedily desiring more, that also means we’ll be thirsting for whatever comes next.
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