
Ever since their beginning, Djevel has brought an ode to the Norwegian Black Metal of the 90’s, and in particular the more atmospheric likes of Gehenna, Ulver, Borknagar and early Satyricon. Formed by Trånn Ciekals, the band currently also harbors legendary drummer Bård ‘Faust’ Eithun and Vemod and Mare frontman Kvitrim. With the release of ‘Natt Til Ende’ the Norwegians of Djevel round off their trilogy of the night that started in 2021 with ‘Tanker Som Rir Natten’ and was followed up with ‘Na Skrider Natten Sort’ in 2022.
As a conclusion of the triplet of albums, ‘Natt Til Ende’ does exactly what you would expect: an epic conclusion to a homage to the night. As such, the album does not stray too far away from the sound of the other records. If anything, the songs are slightly more compact than on the previous records, but the differences are only marginal. If I would have to highlight one point, it’s probably that the most recent album is the least raw, and thereby most massive in sound.
Undoubtedly the strongest point of ‘Natt Til Ende’ are the riffs. Djevel is not a band that bombards you with endless riffs, but instead focusses on a few entrancing melodies. In a song like ‘Bespottelsen’ they are utterly convincing and captivating. Likewise, the more uptempo ‘Ravnehymne’ may be very directly inspired by Satyricon, the riffs and more beefy parts more than make up for it. It’s once again a more urgent song like ‘Under Nattens Fane I Fandens Prakt’, with its catchy main riff that together with haunting keys creates a splendid contrast. And the ultimate power of the Djevel riff is displayed in the epic closer ‘Natt Til Ende’, a song carried by a handful of riffs that are utterly mesmerizing, even when repeated for minutes on end. It’s the minimal variations, the pained screams and piercing keys that manage to mold into a fascinating ending of the record. That the band manages to keep this song interesting for 14 minutes despite this hypnotizing level of repetition is for me by far the most impressive feature of the record.
But within the album it’s not all praise and glory as the repetitive nature of the music can also backfire. In particular the more midtempo track ‘En Vinter Efter Kommer’ misses fire, and often comes across as a tamer version of early Ulver. And even though ‘Jesu Lidelse’ is massive and theatrical in sound, it feels rather uneventful. And that’s not because there isn’t anything happening, it just doesn’t seem to fall into place for me at any point.
In the past, Djevel never really managed to utterly blow me away, and despite spending many rounds of listening to ‘Natt Til Ende’ hasn’t really changed that. That doesn’t make it a disappointing album by any means. I’m convinced that avid followers of the band will be much more pleased with the outcome. And I will gladly admit there’s a few excellent songs on the album, heck, I might even revisit it for the title track alone. However, there are simply too many other bands I would rather listen to that harken back to 90’s Norwegian Black Metal.
Aftermath Music
- Country: Norway
- Style: Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Other
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