Waking from an extended period of wyrding rumination and now musing on the firmament above Dalarna, Sweden-based black metal project WULKANAZ returns with a thicker-layered yet explosively energetic oddity this fifth time around. Continuing to stray on a path far, far removed from typical black metal wares ‘Luftuz‘ may very well estrange those who’ve not followed the artist’s greater periphery these last seven years as they’ve gathered personage which manifests in both expected long-gathered voice and surprising exaggerative forms. The bombast and intricate rhythmic fuss of garage rock/psychedelic punk continue to yield brilliance in brevity for this unique and enduring artist, guaranteeing yet another result from this fellowe which is tuneful yet unlike anything else.

Wulkanaz formed circa 2009 as a solo project from M.E. aka Kumulonimbus (Dughpa, Felon Wind, Hær, Wagner Ödegård, Brugmanziah) who’d been active in black metal duo Tomhet since the late 90’s. You’ll some “traditional” black metal precedence in the artist’s earlier work where raw sounds and short, abruptly struck pieces tended to rough out ideas quick and move on as soon as the urge to repeat hits. This’d been a personal vendetta, though, and just one of many new doors opened for the sake of ignoring the dried-out strictures that bind black metal in place. At that point the fellowe’d learned how to drum and as a result the “lo-fi” stylized sound of the project from the start (‘Kwetwan jah Dreuzaz‘, 2010) took on a punkish, simpler kicked beat that’d obviously (from my point of view) been inspired by garage psych/hardcore punk and applied to shades of dark ambient and raw black metal ideation (see: “Aggwiz Agisiz” via ‘Paurpura Fræovíbôkôs‘, 2013). It was (and still is) a novel rhythmic approach guided by the artists own handle on the kit before collaboration began to skew the possibilities further.

Collaboration between Kumulonimbus and session drummer Daniel Rockmyr (ex-Craft) completely reframed Wulkanaz‘ sound on their bigger-deal third LP (‘Paralys‘, 2017) and within my own circles received endless praise enough that I’d reviewed their follow-up (‘Wulkanaz‘, 2018) to high praise. That deeper first impression hadn’t been fully conscious of the first ten ~years of development as a solo project on my part and wouldn’t get a closer look until the duo took a hiatus from that burst of activity/recording sessions in 2016-2017 and Kumulonimbus suggested a spiritual successor with his own drumming would follow under the Wagner Ödegård moniker via ‘Om Domedag och de Femton Järtekn‘ (2019). This is the only knot tied in the band’s discography as the lines blurred back to the early 2010’s spectrum of rocking, psych-rippled garage metal was expanded in exponent. By then more folks had caught onto this arena sound and stuff like Arnaut Pavle, Raspberry Bulbs, even Bone Awl tangentially made sense within that same realm but nothing came close to ‘Om Kosmos och de Tolv Järtekn‘ (2020), another album under the artists dark ambient focused name which followed the prior lineage of Wulkanaz. It’d been #22 on my Top 100 Albums of 2020 and generally held the high standard for what comes next in terms of inventive riffcraft, unpredictable moods, and that wild punkish spiritus beyond what anyone else was doing at the time.

‘Luftuz‘ picks that mode back up after several years wherein Kumulonimbus explored a variety of ideas in the interim, no longer inhabiting a space where impromptu creation and making noise without disturbing the neighbors was possible. It is worth checking out the chiptune side of those more recent releases, Mauvet Mauve, as well as various dark ambient projects from the artist along the way. A broad mind with a focused vision comes into better light with all of that output taken in, we see the artist has a very specific vibe and type of expression in mind when it comes to Wulkanaz a “dark Germanic heathenry” inspired post which has transformed and taken wild “risks” or shots in the dark with every iteration. With this in mind head into ‘Luftuz‘ expecting the pre-‘Paralys‘ and post-‘Om Kosmos och de Tolv Järtekn‘ experience, movement backwards and forwards at once which stretches the form into an ear-bending, psychedelia entrenched fractal form.

The big deal up front here on album number five is the addition of Nigrum drummer Calle Larsson for these sessions who flexes both primitive black metalpunk tackle and fleet-minded oeuvre throughout, arguably the first drummer to keep up with and enhance the flexion of Kumulonimbus‘ own rhythmic hand rather than flatten it a plain black metal tic. This doesn’t overtake the first impression in any sense so much as enhances the repeatable clip of ‘Luftuz‘ in general as the drums are rendered in the blurry distance, echoing from the back of the garage and up a steep driveway lending a cavernous effect much of the time. Otherwise it is a heavier layered approach to a variety of fuzzed and shocked rhythm guitar tones, effects-crushed vocals, and increased use of unique synthesizer tones that all add to the psych-black trample of these songs.

You’ll understand why I’d included those two specific Wagner Ödegård records beyond 2018 in reassessing Wulkanaz‘ discography once you’ve been struck by the heady, spaced break in the midst of otherwise charging and buzzing opener “Hökvind”. Though we’re not fully off to the droning garage-punk portal just yet similar treatment of “Gulbraza” fully dives into the swinging grooves which’ve long defined the idiosyncratic style of this project. Each song hits fast and find its impact in the whole body of the rhythms deployed, true interplay between guitar, bass, and drums which is inventive on a scale unheard of within most of the black metal adjacent underground. This should be expected on some level for returning fandom as that opening action peaks within standout “Til Intet Gjord”, peak material here in terms of that high energy punk given manic black metal thrall. For my own taste this is a welcome return from an artist who only just sounds like themselves, a wholly idiosyncratic vision that matured into a bizarre yet infectious trip. Things only get more experimental from there, too.

“Sigldu pa Enslika Sioar” is a darker beast, a spike of doom beyond the parade of anthemic garage burners up to that point and one that finds its melting dread in quieter verses, a song that recalls the band’s first couple of LPs rhythmically to my ear. “Rydning” likewise brings some spiritus from black metal into its slow-slung reveal, something like a symphonic black metal swell in transition or a mid-90’s pagan/folk metal refrain. That is to suggest that there is -some- clear and pure black metal fusion happening here but we’re neck deep in Wulkanaz‘ own sound as it continues to delve beyond any discernable sub-genre syncretism; The major peak of the album wasn’t all that clear on my end, every song here smokes one after another but I’d always keyed into the duo of “Krokharpor” and its launch into the doomed opener on the otherwise juddering, backfiring motor pressing through “Bradhnavtitni”.

You could probably make a random track selection, try any one song as your induction into ‘Luftuz‘ and I guarantee you’ll not only understand what Wulkanaz are all about on this record but it’ll end up being a pretty good song: Short, scalding and ear-worming. There are a few big stand outs in terms of the rhythm guitar arrangements and catchier refrains (w/synth etc. flinging around) but the bar is never low-set or trite even when things get moderately out-there in their experimentation. Consistently high energy, save a couple of slower built pieces, makes for an easy to grab record which always has another idea in its pocket and to me this lines up perfectly with what Kumulonimbus has been developing since the late 2000’s. Still, if all you’ve heard is ‘Wulkanaz‘ prior this’ll likely feel like a leap in a wildly different direction in some respects. From my point of view ‘Luftuz‘ is one of the better releases from the artist even if I’ve not found an entry point into its lyrics, themes, etc. as I continue to get a kick out of this album as a full listen and find it infinitely repeatable. A very high recommendation.

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