Repeatedly opening the door to the past and what legendary greatness was achieved in storied times creates a dilation of past properties which is grotesquely revisional in nature yet ideally romanticist at the same time. Recreating the peaks and not the valleys of inspirational melodicism is not such a crime in the ever-shitting stream of moderne extreme metal’s anything goes, meaning-void realms of today yet in the process of modernization we often lose the “work” of iterative design. In the case of Kungälv, Sweden-based melodic black metal quartet VOODUS those greater shapes allow for facial recognition, a bump-mapped placard of fealty and a mark of traditional craftsmanship. Few would argue for wild originality fuming around the band’s sophomore full-length album outright though ‘Emanating Sparks‘ is admirably a product of devout fandom, a secured hearth which they’ve built their castle around here in refinement of a core ideal. Less patiently sprawling and now condensed down to prime efficacy this is a devout melodic black metal album inserted into modern times rather than a “modern” example, one which’d toy with pace and atmosphere just enough to enlarge the canvas rather than rethink the craft altogether.

Voodus formed circa 2015 between folks who’d spent about ten years working on a first-life ideal (Jormundgand) managing a full-length under that name before collapsing what didn’t work for them any longer, rescinding their title and focus. After releasing two self-transformative smaller releases soon after under this new path they’d readied an incredibly ambitious debut LP (‘Into the Wild‘, 2018) where the long-ranting strands of devotion via late 90’s Dawn met up with very clear nods to Dissection and the zeitgeist that’d surround beyond death. Though I wouldn’t consider nine minute melodic black metal songs ambitious by default I’d appreciated the interest they’d developed between the esoteric, romanticist ideals of the sub-genre per the mid-90’s and reached for elaborate songs rather than chaotic bursts of sophisticate melody. In this way it’d been an album for the devotee and not as much the dabbler looking for the fifth gen drippings from a long dried tradition of plagiarism and borrowed themes. Nonetheless, part of that original equation was heavy rock guitar prowess, especially when it came time to sling a guitar lead within a steady tromping mid-paced piece and this was less a breakthrough and more a search for authorship under a new-found voice.

In my review of the supplemental 12″ EP (‘Open the Otherness‘, 2020) a couple of years beyond Voodus’ full-length I’d framed their approach somewhat differently, assuming that some kind of melodic black metal and atmospheric gothic/dark metal inspired fusion was the path forward. While their outsized, experiential pieces are still captivatingly stated in hindsight I’d recognize that despite rating their prior releases highly I’d never gone back to listen to them per their demanding sitting and frankly… lack of interesting (read: consonant, complete thoughts) melodic statement. Voodus wasn’t necessarily a dilution of classic forms but… not a commander in the field either. Lyrics, theme, performance, aesthetic curation, etc. everything has long been pro and in line with a very high personal standard from the get-go but I’d head into the realm of ‘Emanating Sparks‘ today seeking a more complete dialogue with the artist’s self, more immediate ideas with similarly profound depth, and some level of sincerity assumed.

Some would argue they were already there on their debut and fair enough, this follow-up and slight reframing of Voodus‘ modus should manage to be the remedy or the compounding display either way, the result is a brilliantly channeled Swedish melodic black metal record in admirable tradition once again. ‘Emanating Sparks‘ introduces itself with a balance of 90’s standard movements and some of the frenetic irregularities found in Watain‘s discography as the title track/opener (“Emanating Sparks”) makes the first of many nods to the past with its opening riffs and arena-level movement. Instead of entering the room mid-conversation and consuming the space they’ve presented a largely complete statement up front with guitar work that is heavily referential albeit without the ripping speed and intensity of said influences. If we’re willing to take that suggestion of “heavily referential” into the nearly note-for-note territory key single “The Call of the Abysmal Deep” is more-or-less a collection of Dissection riffs/lead guitar melodies translated through their pure relation to heavy metal, offering a temporal zoom with slower rock pacing and what I’d consider melodic death metal foundation to the shape of the song. The teeth of this song bring a familiar bite and venom to the experience, I would say too readily familiar, but this should rally the troops effectively as the rest of the album emphasizes the speed/heavy metal bravado available to melodic black/death ideation and gallops on through.

When Voodus‘ composers once again begin to stretch out the moment, extend their pieces into dramatic rouse (re: “The Scorned”) this usually results in something closer to dark metal, not quite gothic melodic death but lead driven dramatism which reminds me of the way Sarcasm‘s (Sweden) early style would land somewhere between black/death metal of the time and the bluster of melodic death/gothic doom adjacent sounds. This observation might come across as a slight stretch but I am merely identifying the shape of the shadows conjured, the classicist and the melodic black/death metal aficionado will recognize the fealty to old forms but also question the tempering of speed and violence from that auld equation. From my point of view the middle three songs on this album are appreciably fine work (especially “Below and Beyond”) though they’re comfortable, familiar pieces which reflect a maturing ideal rather than a bursting afire wield of the craft. I can’t think of a more welcoming set of arms to greet a fan with interest in classic Swedish melodic black metal than this record thus far and you can decide whether that is a good or a bad thing based on your own preferences/posturing.

The more declarative call and cull of “Hieros Gamos” and the yearning epic finale of “Where the Whispering Wind Blows” help to immerse beyond the first few rallies through classics inspired works up front, making Side B of ‘Emanating Sparks‘ the heavy preference here for my own taste. Surprisingly enough the longest piece on the album feels the most profound and despite braying for shorter form works beyond the first album I’m convinced this is their strength compared to standard-shaped black metal pieces. The variety of moods and muse covered within the stretch of the closer but for the upward shot, ever climbing pulse of the song. We end on a high note and because of this I’d found myself repeating the full listen in hopes that more of it might stick or produce a readily connective level of entrancement in the process yet the reality of Voodus‘ output is perhaps too pro-level, high grade stuff to source and blurred lines and aberration from. That level of neatness is both appreciable and maddeningly dry depending on the pass-through.

Rather than getting “stuck” in response to the post-‘Storm of the Light’s Bane‘ as so many artists do Voodus use their muscle memory for those forms as an accessible blending medium, this works incredible well and makes for quick familiarity and an entertaining listen. The only thing that is still missing for my own taste is a grand design aiming to do more to “earn” its swells toward dramatic peak, or, just find more to do at those apex moments than wing a sick guitar solo or two. The end result is yet a fine album sure to be a crowd pleaser and a point of interest for adherents to the old (high) standard of the niche. A high recommendation.

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