Trenched in bunker and milling over the power of death, the wrath of Trondheim, Norway-based black metal duo Whoredom Rife captured the process of mutation and delirium circa MMXXI as their fourth full-length album followed up and followed through on previously made threats. Distorted in its voice, multifarious on a new level ‘Den Vrede Makt’ is the piece to cap the scepter brandished and the unexpected tip of their sword as their goal of revivification beyond restoration of tradition now hits a crucial point of proof for its thesis. In the process of expansion, be it scope or voice, they’ve managed to retain a signature black hand despite the shedding of skin and displays of dominance which occur herein. Brilliantly classicist and expertly curated as they’ve long been, this time around these folks make the case for incurable singularity, an oeuvre given its own still-feral directive and moulded by hand into sleekened yet irreverent forms.

Whoredom Rife formed circa ~2013-2014 as the main project of Vyl aka V. Einride (Manii, Syning) who was originally best known as the drummer for Keep of Kalessin From the mid-90’s through their many incarnations in the last two decades. Einride is the main performer and songwriter of the band but his work includes another fellowe around since the early 90’s in vocalist K.R. a founding member of Bloodthorn who takes increasing command of his placement, cadence and performance in each record from this project. Their core purpose has been consistently stated as a resuscitation, a “breath of life” into the true Norwegian black metal artform and this has been an inarguable result spiritually comparable to the work of Djevel, Taake, and such. I don’t quite agree with the hordes that their first EP (‘Whoredom Rife‘, 2016) was a complete recollection of the “sound of 1994” in any sense but rather that they’d found a standardized, neatly representative statement which represented the greater zeitgeist with some pro-level performance and charismatic delivery. Their debut LP (‘Dommedagskvad‘, 2017) did an exceptional job of expanding that sensation into flesh, evoking the high pointedness of earlier Satyricon where heavy rock and heavy atmosphere helped build a tuneful, eventful roll through this new realm of theirs. It is a fact that they’ve upheld those high standards without falter since then, exploring their production values and greater voice without any questionable bravery gumming up their good name.

When extrapolating the bounds made in personalized, spiritually driven muse (‘Nid – Hymner av Hat‘, 2018) is the big ‘epic’ export, a raw turn in some respects as the drumming leaned slightly more rotted out but the vocal expression took on their first escalation of venomous and aggressive personage. At that point there was some faith in the signature Whoredom Rife had presented and I think more and more folks were anticipating their work after a key split 7″ with Taake introduced their modus and mentality before a third and most important LP (‘Winds of Wrath‘, 2021) would manifest as their defining release, probably their most Norse classics-minded record to date in terms of its melodic voice and the sinister arcs built throughout. Though there was nothing ugly or inherently volatile to their steady rise at that point the charismatic, wrathful finesse of that particular album completely impressed me, eventually placing it on my Top 20 Albums of November but not fully sticking in mind due to the press of late album releases bottlenecking all filters. The precedence set was not limited to classics minded hindsight per their expertly sovereign music but also a noveau pristine presentation in terms of packaging as the band’ve deployed virtually the same set of conspirators since their inceptions, working with Rune Stavnesli at Stavmix Studio for the final render of their recordings, all layouts etc. per their label, and cover artwork from the incredible José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal who continues to impress with each new work offered for the band. Point being that expectations were set incredibly high as ‘Winds of Wrath‘ found its broader audience and no doubt even more ears will turn eagerly for ‘Den vrede makt‘.

The suggestion is that this fourth LP continues down the path of ‘Winds of Wrath‘ and I suppose that would have to depend on where you’d felt they were leading the listener, what that path was, and how different this destination might be considered as on a practical level when scouring its details. The high quality presentation and production values are intact, I wouldn’t consider this a “raw” black metal record in terms of its sonic lustre being dark and tonally rich but there does seem to be a conscious effort to not sound entirely like the last. The point to make here is that this is not an in-the-moment reactionary feat but rather an album that was more-or-less completed in 2021 as a band finding their own way which is not so strictly Norwegian in terms of the early second wave zeitgeist as stricture to forms. Leaning into atmospheric dual guitar rhythms, building up atmospheric layers, and authoring more complexly meandering arcs which burn slower and steadier to start finds the opener/title track (“Den Vrede Makt”) speaking to a greater escalation, a miasmic ascension available to thier craft which now diversifies rather than continue to beat the most obviate war drum for their region’s past. The reveal is not unheard of but certainly not a repeat edition of what’d been done on the previous record.

While it did initially feel like the voice of the band had fundamentally changed as we’d stepped into the second song, “Fiender”, we begin to recognize this atmospheric reach only intensifies as a major part of the central voice of this record to start. Whoredom Rife redefine and reinforce themselves in the process of carrying over the momentum of the opener through the dramatic, sorrowful wrath of this second song and this’d only read as more profound with each listen. There is an exceptionally trained hand applied to every moment of these songs, for example the lead which cracks off around ~4:19 minutes into “Fiender” which completes the transition into the second half of the song. The level of finesse which they are operating with here isn’t necessarily notable on first pass yet the tuneful craft at hand speaks louder with some familiarity in hand. A greater differentiation of forms follows as the album continues on, making sure each song its own distinct ride or realm enough that to get the full picture of this ~51 minute album and in this sense we do get a meaningful continuation of the knack found on ‘Winds of Wrath‘.

The instant gratification of melody and outright aggression in tandem and traded turns are still there in terms of the guitar work and this is where we find our intense expectations met upfront. Where I’d found the most surprisingly tuneful and self-directed personality beyond those expectations was in the ‘old school’ Norwegian grooves of “Hevnens Rett” and “Phantom Sword” where we get a more rocking and reeling motion from the former and a mesmerizing standout from the latter. The kinetic quality of these songs does well to infuse some action and attitude into the full listen beyond the dramatic bluster forth created within the first third of this record. These songs end up being some of the most key points of change and personalization here as they continue this tonal exploration on “Ravenous” and force focus upon the most classic, early days pulse of their work rather than the hifalutin dramatism of the opening duo of songs. The balance of the full listen makes great sense on those first five songs but the final piece is the only real wrench in my mental gears here overall.

“The Beautiful End of All” is the humming and jogging free semi-grand finale of the record as they present a full test of the atmospheric reach of this record and its indulgences within an eleven and a half minute song. While this doesn’t necessarily hold a candle to the castle-bound crypt slashing rise of a song like “Hevnens Rett” and its thrashing stride the slow-bleeding drag of the final corpse here isn’t cause for reproach. There is a dry monotony created which jogs along for maybe five minutes too long but also righteously presents something new on a record which now fully threatens to be well-rounded, representative and one of their most varietal showings to date. I figure if you’ve the patience for a set of seven or eight minute songs presented in a row an eleven minute piece isn’t such a crime or interruption. The full listen is given a long coattail, a cape to float and whip behind its paces, and its indulgence is perfectly fitting for the tone of the record regardless.

As is the case with most all high-effort Terratur Possessions releases the graphic design, curation of art, and general layout are all exceptional in their attention to detail. I think this is an important point to make in terms of making the physical item a sublime, well above-average experience as it makes it impossible to judge the overall value of a record like ‘Den Vrede Makt‘ if we are limited to a digital format. There is a talent for design there which is part tradition and part instinctive eye and I think this observation spills over into the cover artwork from José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal which presents an a mastery of ancient forms and personalized style rich with water-colorful depth and an eye-catching sense of scene with framing that echoes the maw at the front of ‘Winds of Wrath‘. Album artwork and packaging will always matter in terms of a lasting impression made and for my own taste it is important to acknowledge the sublime, indomitable level of craft and how profoundly it accentuates this release.

When I break it down to notes taken, account for a bit of personal hype, and retain some considerable admiration for the greater discography of Whoredom Rife it wouldn’t be all that controversial to suggest that this is the finest yet work from the duo and their larger team. The annoying fanatic within does want to insert the caveat that some of the more sinister, malevolent arcs found on the previous album are my preference yet I have to concede that this album opens a new portal, not only in terms of perfecting their craft but presenting a greater sense of self within the grand tradition and lifestyle lived. At the end of the day they’ve refreshed, done something else and dare I say singular with Norwegian black metal militance rather than plainly refining or re-milling it. A high recommendation.

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