Years after precarious landing upon the iced edge of the realm of mists and becoming lost within the dark, gloomy fog abounding Trollhättan, Sweden-based folk metal quintet FEJD return from a decade-long trek through the primordial cold readied with hearthflame warmed fifth full-length album. Polished production values and years of consideration afford ‘Nifelheim‘ a particularly class showing which yields the band’s long-standing signature an intimate, bardic event. Solemn yet strident in its idiosyncratic Scandinavian folk rock/metal ideation the band’s unwavering sense of self suffers no necrosis within its greater thawing herein.

Fejd formed circa 2001 by way of fellowes from progressive/thrash metal group Pathos and the brothers Rimmerfors who’re best known for their Scandinavian folk authorship, ultimately manifesting a singular version of folk rock/metal from that point on. Between a pair of ‘ready well-formed demos (‘I En Tid Som Var‘, 2002 b/w ‘Huldran‘, 2004) they’d established their own dramatic cadence driven by Swedish-sung vocals and particularly adept use of non-standard instrumentation. They were basically album ready from the first CD-R and Napalm Records would rightfully snatch them up for a three album deal soon after.

That initial three album run was intensely tuneful and consistent beyond any suggested peer, culminating with what is my favorite material from the group, ‘Nagelfar‘ (2013), an album I’d discovered randomly online while searching for the German black metal band by the same name. If you take the time to sink into the band’s discography you’ll likely find their work metal-adjacent at best, a unique troupe with a flair for complex melodic threads and rousing anthems. Their underrated fourth LP (‘Trolldom‘, 2016) brought in distorted guitars and heavier/darker arrangements to their fullest integration to date, don’t expect those heavier works to serve as direct precedence for ‘Nifelheim‘.

Ten years beyond their previous album Fejd haven’t lost their Nordic folk engine for the oaken slow-kicked anthems, still featuring their grasp of traditional folk instrumentation as a key voice while bringing in a slightly different approach versus ‘Trolldom‘. Opener/title track “Nifelheim” for example retains the pummel of their rhythm section but inserts an otherworldly, sorta snarling distorted guitar tone in the middle of the mix with psychedelic effects and layered accompaniment ensuring it warps and bubbles within the piece, growling like a sinister Moog synthesizer. This should suggest that the darker tensions of the previous album also return in some sense but as “Nidhögg” and the kicking “Edsvuren” prove soon after this is still very much the same braintrust that’d given us the trampling and crooning albums past, particularly the latter piece.

Production values are potentially the differentiator here as much of ‘Nifelheim‘ inhabits a more immediate and polished space, sounding intimate versus the foggy live-in-studio expanse some of their earlier more dramatic works’d featured. In this way Fejd read as earnest, closer in ear and less adorned by an unreal amount of layers here, leaving plenty enough room for vocalist Patrik Rimmerfors‘ tongue-rolling performances to shine on their own. The result sounds far less like a hall full of vikingr (re: “Älvagrimmar”) at its outset. “Sköldborg” and “Svarta Tjärn” for example could’ve fit in quite well on Side B of ‘Nagelfar‘, chorales and all, but the breathing room given allows for markedly different characterization in this space. It is probably the sharpest production value afforded the band to date and helps to ensure that their return feels like something new rather than a cold recall of the past.

If you’ve been keeping up with the band’s work over the years you’ll note that a couple of songs the band’ve held in their repertoire for years, such as the aforementioned “Edsvuren” which they’d posted back in maybe 2019 and “Strilja” from 2021, suggest this album has been in the works for quite some time. This marks ‘Nifelheim‘ as potentially the most considered (or delayed) release from Fejd to date and seems to indicate some of their philosophy of capture/production values have changed, taking on more of a pro-level presence while only their proven material ends up suitable. It is a remarkably air-tight showing from a band who’ve always feature roughened edges as a point of earthly presence.

As a full listen the bulk of ‘Nifelheim‘ is successfully engaging to start and sailing off slow by the end. Side A pulls in new sounds, experiments a bit with different textures whereas Side B reaches for tried and true melodic constructs which could easily replace or enrich parts of their go-to set. I’d appreciated those newer ideas being set upfront wherein the signature Fejd sound only becomes louder as the album spins into realignment. They’re not at their most “metal” here in any sense but the years between are worn well on this fifth album, where we find the band at their most deliberate, bardic and solemn. A moderately high recommendation.

https://fejdofficial.bandcamp.com/album/nifelheim

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