Nordjevel was formed by Doedsadmiral (Doedsvangr) and Nord (Varde) back in 2015 and has become somewhat of a supergroup over the years, to date featuring members of such prominent bands as Ragnarok, Dark Funeral, Morbid Angel & Myrkskog.
‘Gnavhòl’, the bands third full length is evident of this, in both production values and performance. Barely 15 seconds in and you are hit in the face with a double kick courtesy of Nils Fjellström and it really doesn’t let up from there. A brutal mix of headbanging riffs, absolutely punishing drums and truly menacing vocals. ‘Within The Eyes’ becomes almost hypnotic with it’s swirling guitars and double kicks before fading away and giving you time to catch a breath before it kicks back in beats you into submission.
The title track ‘Gnavhòl’ is a Gorgoroth inspired gem that is equal parts disturbing and riff heavy, leaving the listener in two minds about whether they should bang their head or sacrifice a goat. The final track, aptly titled ‘Endritual” begins as a slow, bruising, heavy piece before gradually picking the pace and dragging the listener through a maniacal 10 minute journey.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out some musical similarities to Dimmu Borgir’s ‘Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia’ album (minus the keyboards and clean vocals), but all in all this is a quality course in modern Black Metal with some top notch musicianship and production values. (Mr. Nielsen)
