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Insikt – Wanderings through a Cursed Mind

insikt – wanderings through a cursed mind

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Insikt is one of the many vessels of Swedish Black Metal mastermind Swartadauþuz, of which the first and thus far only release ‘Wanderings Through a Cursed Mind’ appeared in 2022 on Amor Fati Productions. The drums on this release have been provided by Belgian drummer Déhà. Besides known for his work in Wolvennest and numerous other bands, this isn’t the first time that Déhà and Swartadauþuz have joined forces. Both members work together in acts such as Bræ and Lykta, where they change up the distribution of instruments from one band to another. But in this case, Insikt is strictly the brainchild of Swartadauþuz where like in Bekëth Nexëhmü and Muvitium, Déhà acts as a session member.

While there are some exceptions, most of Swartadauþuz’ bands focus primarily on atmospheric Black Metal in its many forms. And in that sense, Insikt goes straight in the same category. But the atmosphere is slightly different here than most of his other projects. With a gritty production, oft fast-paced repetitive Black metal and depressive slower breaks, the music is mostly a little bit more straightforward, stripped of most melody and there is a sense of atonality in the contrarian riffs. The music is not entirely devoid of melodies however, but they are used more sporadically to break the darkness of the rhythm guitars and drums and are often rather minimalistic in nature. The haunting whistling keyboards that appear every now and then add an eerie layer to the already choking sound. Contrasted against a more straightforward musical arrangement is a diverse vocal performance, in which Swartadauþuz spews his guts out and channels his deepest anguish. With a sense of melancholy that at times borders on depression and a suffocating wall of guitars, the music is a bit of a cacophony of dark emotions, but emphasises more that of an all-consuming darkness, rather than for instance the icier approach of Bekëth Nexëhmü. For example, ‘Embracing Cold Misery’ is about miserable and oppressive as his work gets.

It’s not always easy to navigate through the vast array of Swartadauþuz releases, and there is clear overlap between several of the projects. While I certainly cannot claim to have heard them all, the more suffocating sound of ‘Wanderings Through a Cursed Mind’ sets it somewhat apart. If that’s the sort of thing you were looking for, you just know that you can’t go wrong with Insikt.

Insikt

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