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”. Continue reading »