Once again, Tsjuder strikes ruthlessly with ‘Desert Northern Hell’. This being their third full-length album in a row, this band doesn’t make any compromises. They continue doing what they are so very good at: creating gruesome and dark, no-bullshit Black Metal. No synthesizers, no impressive classical intro, no explosions or thundering storms, just pure, great Black Metal. I would call this album a very logical step forward compared to the ‘Demonic Possession’ album. This album sounds more confident, more self-assured, and especially more Tsjuder!
The album kicks off with the song ‘Malignant Coronation’, which reminds you of their prior album at once! Fast, blasting drums, sneering, ripping guitar riffs, and echoing vocals make this short track a great opener for the new album, and get you up off your feet, yearning to hear the rest!
The first thing I noticed on the album was the new, improved recording quality. I would call it a near-perfect production: very loud, very full, and most of all, very aggressive.
The songwriting, in my opinion, has improved. The songs sound very well thought-out, balanced, and have great diversity concerning, for example, different senses of rhythm and melody lines.
The vocals! Perverted, sickening screams! Although recorded a bit in the background, they definitely add that last little drop of madness to finish the whole thing off.
Most songs are quite short, but coming to the sixth track, ‘Mouth of Madness’, you’re in for a very long, diverse song, containing both rocking Black Metal riffs and fast, hammering Death Metal-like structures. The slower parts really remind me of some newer Carpathian Forest or Armagedda-styled slow, rocking riffs, making your head want to bang. The song lasts exactly eight minutes, not becoming boring for a single second.
One thing that certainly has remained since the ‘Demonic Possession’ album is the extreme rawness of both the music and the production. What really does it for me is that Tsjuder makes ugly and raw Black Metal, yet they are, technically seen, very well-grounded. They don’t shy away from using diverse melodies, well-written guitar solos, and interesting, technical breaks, thus creating an interesting album you just want to hear over and over again.
This album is ugly, this album is raw, and this album is, if you ask me, definitely one of the finer things coming from Norwegian soil these days!
