Although something is lost in translation between an at-times serious tone and a few choices made in random passing on this debut full-length album from Leipzig, Germany-based black metal duo MÝRDAL there is some interesting enough conviction in their work to suggest personae will follow this promising enough starting point. That is to say that our voyage to Hell via ‘Helvíti‘ is brief, unfocused yet charming in its rattling attack to start per stamping beats and strikes of sleekened dissonant-isms before an odd depressive black tonal shift obscures the finale of its tirade. Though there are pieces herein which verge on exhausted post-black metal drainage others are vibrant in detail and immediate enough in their delivery/render to feel like tangible performance on a larger stage, this all amounts to a point of interest at the very least.

Officially founded circa 2022 the roots of Mýrdal seem to run as deep as about a decade ago when seeking to make the connection between black metal atmosphere and (initially) powerviolence, sourcing musicians for experimentation over time until a core trio had formed by way of vocalist/guitarist W.K. (ex-Tryśt), founding drummer O.F., and second guitarist C.K. who’d only stuck around for their first tape (‘Mýrdal‘, 2022). That first set of two songs was loud, raw and initially appeared chaotic in its treatment of black metal per flat rushes of blasts and non-directional riffcraft. Their whole sound and approach felt entirely tentative, green in some respect but obviously inspired by both the current German standards for atmospheric black metal, various types of punk and post-music with an implied interest in the Icelandic black metal scenery of the 2010’s. It was a lot to go on, or, to build upon but it wasn’t such a substantial tape all things considered. Was it enough to make a notable album of two years later? No, not without some kind of considerable leap in its stylistic evolution and a basic sense of songcraft applied.

This is ultimately what occurs in craft of ‘Helvíti‘ though whether or not Mýrdal‘s work is notable will be up to the black metal specialist ear, discerning what is xeroxed and what is tangibly lucid in its statement on this debut. Now honed down to a duo and with a couple years worth of live experience as a unit under their belt we now find the band loudly suggesting they’ve taken cues from bands like Misþyrming and Naðra not only in terms of their name being vaguely Icelandic, thier imagery (via Aphelior, cover image looks a bit like doctored AI though) but in developing a sometimes chaotic (re: softly dissonant) version of atmospheric black metal. Their intentions don’t squarely match up with those references but there is some natural vim and vigor to this ~27 minute album’s rhythmic course as they jet through five varietally stated songs with no certain point of view applied up front.

Ambitious in its minimally slashed at and ringing statement up front opener “Martröð” has a few big swings to take out of the gate using familiar guitar techniques and Gollum fingered chords to ring through before we hit the ~2:08 minute mark and a jaunty punkish heavy rock riff interrupts the thought, an old Darkthrone-esque trick, which helps direct the ear toward their variations on the songs melody. The result is something more like, say, Downfall of Gaia than it is the elite forces of Icelandic black metal but the gusto of this song is not inconsiderable as an opener. The rattle of the drums feels live but contained by perhaps just one or two microphones giving the atmosphere of the record an internalized feeling only let loose by stomping, cymbal crashers like the beat that opens “Brand”. In terms of outright physical movement “Brand” (see also: “Eldfell”) is probably the most promising song here for my taste as it builds upon the throttle of the opener and crashes at its intensity, careening in an admirably kinetic yet confident way.

There is nearly an attitude developing within the early pieces explored here, all of them confidently punching out their rhythms in a disaffected way, milling through skillful guitar riffs and their half-finished melodic ideas. In this sense “Brand” might stand out to me but a song like “VRDRBN”, a showcase for dizzying skill as much as it is a quick pass through many different states of possession, clearly acts as the ‘single’, the hook that’ll wake up folks from passive listening for the sake of its intrigue up front. Unfortunately the riffs and the thread of the song generally loses its place around ~3:30 minutes in regressing into an uninteresting refrain and giving us a roll out which clips the wings of the song’s momentum quickly. At this point it is clear Mýrdal‘ve exhausted their best ideas in terms of a certain style of black metal and from there the most dynamic points of interest served are seemingly unrelated in terms of style.

“Teufelsfaust” in particular starts out sounding like a return to the style of the opener for its first minute or so but soon takes on a depressive black metal slant very distinctly and capably reaching for that sound outright. Cold and full of despair despite their warmed guitar tones we get none of the sharper spikes of dissonantly wrung chords here on the finale though there is a sort of rocking swing to the mid-song riffs which develop, something a bit heavy metal to tie into the rest of the album’s modus before things get too bizarrely “dark metal” to proceed. One could see this endpoint from a few different points of view, I’d taken it in as a varietal still-in-development set of songs that’d probably best be considered still formative at this point as I’d not found this album reasonably coherent in its personae or inferred theme.

There is plenty potential for enjoyment here in Mýrdal‘s realm and I definitely see a future where more elaborately considered craft (re: the vocal choirs on “VRDRBN”) will reveal the still partially dormant potential found on ‘Helvíti‘. I did ultimately enjoy the experience on offer but moreso when taken as a tentative mLP rather than a debut album, for a debut album in this style it is a bit short and unfocused. A moderately high recommendation.

https://vendetta-records.bandcamp.com/

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