Aptorian Demon – Liv Tar Slutt

Trondheim has been one of the main strongholds in the Norwegian Black Metal scene, essentially from day one. It started in the early nineties with pioneering band Thorns and later Manes, and then fueled a return to its roots in the mid 2000’s with the birth of the Nidrosian scene. Yet within evolution of scenes and movements there are individuals, wandering their own solitary path. One such individual is Ghâsh, who now goes by the name of Storhetsvanviddets Mester. Once vocalist of Keep of Kalessin, as bass player of Mare he became part of the Nidrosian Circle. After the release of ‘Spheres Like Death’, he chose to walk his own path away from the Nidrosian circle and focus solely on Aptorian Demon, a creation birthed in 2005. The last sign of that solitary wanderer was in 2012, when Kyrck Productions released the Aptorian Demon debut album ‘Libertus’. As years of silence followed, it was unclear whether the band had continued to exist at all. Yet here we are, at the end of 2024, with the follow-up album ‘Liv Tar Slutt’, or translated, ‘Life Ends’.

12 years have led up to this sophomore album, of which the music was recorded between 2016 and 2019. Now joined by K and KK of Gjendød, the band has squeezed the concept full-length to a rather short affair, clocking in at not even 28 minutes. But in a time where many bands think they need to release albums that are nearing the 1 hour duration mark, I guess the age-old comparison with ‘Reign in Blood’ in terms of length is appropriate: what the album may lack in length, it makes up in intensity.

‘Liv Tar Slutt’ in a way continues the path of Aptorian Demon where the predecessor ‘Libertus’ left things, but there are some clear differences. Aptorian Demon, much like the Nidrosian scene, was very much inspired by the earliest recordings of Mayhem, and on ‘Libertus’ featured a further infusion of classic Norwegian Black Metal, especially in the vein of the first two records of Satyricon. That came with some acoustic section and a somewhat epic undertone. And it is that particular element where the newest album is different. ‘Liv Tar Slutt’ is the bleakest Aptorian Demon recording to date, and also the most uniformly ferocious. Its dark and melancholic atmosphere are hidden behind relentless drums and unhinged vocals. Essentially, it’s taking heavy inspiration from ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’ and infused it with early Gorgoroth and Satyricon. The result is an album that is more stripped down, unrelenting and menacing in pace than ‘Libertus’.

At the center of the music is a thumping bass sound, which adds a further layer besides the rhythm and lead guitars. In particular in ‘Ildskjær’ the bass carries the dynamics of the song, while the drums and guitars opt for a more repetitive frenzy. ‘Når livet tar slutt’ on the other hand may start off in a droning manner, but after an acoustic break introduces bellowing cries and intensifying pace that continuously envelop the listener further in darkness, up until a point where an open solo contrasts the pitch-dark rhythms and the desperate cries. Likewise, ‘Die Hexe von Buchenwald’ twists and turns as it progresses, from bareboned dissonance with hissing vocals to rhythmic groove and ruthless tempo changes.

The album further consists of the sinister strumming intro ‘Rashan’ais’ and similar outro ‘Liv tar slutt, vokt di ega Grav’. The lengthy acoustic instrumental ‘Sviking’ feels like the odd one out on ‘Liv Tar Slutt’, even though acoustics were a larger part of ‘Libertus’. Perhaps it’s more the placement, right before the outro, that makes it feel a bit alienated. It certainly initially made me feel as if the album was a bit on the short end. Over time, I have amended my opinion to that ‘Liv Tar Slutt’ has left me wanting for more. And thus, whether all of this is enough to pass as a full-length is semantics that is up to the listener to decide. Leaving length aside, the Black Metal heavily inspired by the Norwegian scene of the early 90’s presented on ‘Live Tar Slutt’ is certainly worth digging into, and a welcome return for Aptorian Demon with their fiercest and darkest recording to date.