From the peak of the chapel tower down through the bones of the skull the ominous clangor of the bell is anechoic and brief for all except the intended victim(s) as Malmö, Sweden-based black metal duo Hinsides illustrate the terrifyingly persistent toll and the horrific fate beyond its warning on this sophomore full-length album. Death is coming, inevitably and as such ‘Hinsides hörs djävulsklockans urklang‘ is less a rabid dog and more a looming spectre, detailing the fate of thee possessed and the maul to come with more patience and poise than prior. A brief yet impactful black metal album presented beyond the norm which yet remembers to embody the devil’s music when all is said and done.

Hinsides is thus far a solo act from M.A. who is best known as the vocalist/bassist for decade-fought and now shining black metal act Ultra Silvam, a raw black metal side project in its original tag (a split with Monstraat circa 2021) though their approach has evolved stylistically within each release. The first couple songs revealed were fiddly, self-involved and erratic in their movement and had yet to show any real fire or finesse compared to the couple of personality crammed full-lengths which’ve follow that starting point. Their debut LP (‘Under Betlehems brinnande stj​ä​rna‘, 2021) was raw to the point of perverse cruelty, guitars frayed to their ends and voices echoing foully downward but a sophistication had already arrived in terms of the guitar arrangements which’d introduced melody as the main propulsion within the statically charged scrawling of the guitars. It’d lined up well enough with the rawness of ‘The Spearwound Salvation‘ (2019) that I’d found it an easy record to crack into but M.A.‘s choices for pacing, eruptive song types, and a wild Samhain cover. The loose, unhinged feeling of the album was balanced well by easily grasped sinister melodicism for an abrasive but impressive introduction. What this follow-up does best upon M.A.‘s return is differentiate itself from the typical raw black metal shite outright, quickly realizing his own carve and clipping away anything too familiar otherwise.

They toll for you… from beyond. — Eerily lifted of its veil rather than shocked with mania, the stride into the opener/title track for ‘Hinsides hörs djävulsklockans urklang‘ is dramatic, foreboding in a ragged but not cheaply noisome way as the ancient bones in mind clang against church bells as a point of dramatism. In fact all of the church bells ringing on Side A and such should immediately recall ‘Achatius‘, the most recent record from Funereal Presence, where the bell tolling was a big part of that narrative experience as well, though I find there is less of a speed metallic basis for what Hinsides are creating here. The folkish tarantella of “För dödens storhet” aims for an ancient but not oversimplified version of black metal which is reeling, stamping and thrashing in a yet contained sort of motion before the blades are unsheathed around ~1:48 minutes into the piece, a cutting melodic lead which strays and whips in a sinister yet punkish, heavy rock sort of refrain.

The main event, or, the centerpiece for the full listen comes with the combination of instrumental “Djävulshymn” and one of the more substantial songs on this otherwise pretty short (~28 minute) release, “I nekromisantropisk harmoni”. Yes, the bell will continue tolling, that is part of the theme here if you’ve translated the title and we are notably not touching upon any sort of typical raw black metal so much as a violent beast narrating a death-bound fate and this means the addition of drummer L.A. (also of Ultra Silvam) can be felt most within this particular song as his performances use more of the kit to carry the song to higher potentiate than we’d found on the first LP; Even when considering the prior release it might sound unfitting to suggest a sort of punk spiritus to Hinsides‘ work, though we do find “666 stötar mot himmelens port” has a tinge of a Wagner Ödegård-esque abandon. In terms of black metal intent it’d be appropriate to hear a primal heavy rock waltz in the vernacular of the artist, especially as we touch upon the perfectly wailing heavy metal lead guitar that screeches and spikes up within interlude “Djävulshymn” and the pieces which arrive beyond that point. The guy can kinda shred and we find that incorporate best into the marching glide of closer “En stympad människa”, the culmination of all morbid fascination explored up to that point and some new rhythms, which are unlike anything on the rest of the record, develop to keep expectations freshly mutilated.

Though the experience is still feral, raw in spirit and instinctive in hindsight, I’d found this possessed saunter toward the sound of the bells and the grisly death that resulted doubly sophisticate compared to the prior album. ‘Hinsides hörs djävulsklockans urklang‘ is likewise much in line with the increasing personae of Ultra Silvam, possessing a certain boldness which is yet confident in its finer details/construction, ensuring some obvious crossover appeal for fans of either/both. The potency of vision which Hinsides brings here justifies the short runtime — a grand entrance, a horrifying scene, and glorious-enough quietus make for an easily approached yet finely crafted bout of black metal oddity. A high recommendation.

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