While Norway may be seen by many where “true” Black Metal originated from, their neighbours in Sweden have contributed massively to the development and advancement of Black Metal from a musical standpoint quite some time ago, unquestionably.
From seminal bands such as Bathory, Dissection and later Marduk, to reliable hands like Necrophobic, Lord Belial, Watain and Dark Funeral, Swedish Black Metal resonates with Extreme Metal fans across the globe for their vast contributions to the scene.
One such band doing just that in the Swedish scene, and one that is fairly new (at least to this reviewer) is Wolfcross, a Black Metal band injecting some Thrash into their sound, utilising speed and furious riffing and drumming to hammer their point home, on their newest album, ‘Wargods Of The Underworld’.
Excellently produced and performed, ‘Wargods Of The Underworld’ starts with unrelenting fury and sets a brilliant pace, with tracks like ‘Occult Crowd Domination’ and ‘Dance Of Destruction’ leaning into the Thrash stylings, but always unapologetically with the dread, hatred and venom of Black Metal (pun intended)
The production is stellar, the shouted and gnarled vocals fitting the music perfectly, with the blasting drums during the thrashier moments punctuating the album perfectly, as well as in the closing title track, hammering down with furious anger.
It’s when the tempo changes up slightly on ‘The Hell Where Youth And Laughter Go’ that bring about the “riff face”; that unmistakable face you make when you hear a great riff at a particular tempo and nod to it, revelling in how the band is able to craft such a great track around it.
Make no mistake, the sound and approach of Wolfcross is most definitely entrenched in the blackened heart itself of Black Metal, but those Thrash influences and aura lends itself to seeing Wolfcross straddling the precipice of Black Metal/Thrash as opposed to Blackened Thrash; a welcomed distinction to this reviewer, though there is certainly nothing against the latter; moreso just a matter of preference as to what “blend” is more dominant in the offing.
While ‘Wargods Of The Underworld’ doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it’s a 45-minute excursion in Black Metal/Thrash that will see you appreciating Sweden’s contributions to Black Metal just a bit more; I know it did for me.
