When Bergen, Norway-based black metal band Deathcult formed in the mid-2000’s their intent was clear enough in presenting the strict spiritus of the early second wave era of Norwegian black metal without any caveat or gimmickry applied. Death-worshipping, raw and wrathful in their reap they’ve thus far presented a knack for tradition and their own bent upon it over the last ~two decades while keeping it unkempt, rowdy and deleterious at every turn. With their latest 12″ EP, ‘Seven Are They‘ we find their own signature continuing to sing from the chest in an arcane voice, exploring the endless possibilities of the old standard while keeping their work grounded in cold-blooded practicum. This pair of extended, driving ‘old school’ black metal pieces are an excellent addition to their discography and hopefully denote the possibility of a third full-length down the line.

Describing their sound as “Cruel Norwegian Black Metal” and sporting live/session work with Taake, Gorgoroth, Gaahlskagg among the resumes of Skagg and Thurzur the main line-up also features Hoest himself who I believe switched to bass guitar beyond providing vocals/guitars for the first LP (‘Cult of the Dragon‘, 2007). Back in 2017 I was a huge fan of their follow-up release ‘Cult of the Goat‘ (2017) which’d expanded their songcraft into a more thoroughly Norwegian sound where clangorous riffs, plenty of wrathful gloom, and even some folken moments kept it all rolling along within a surprising evolutionary step. Though I won’t link the terrible review I wrote for it back in 2017 I will say that songs like “Ascension Rite” made a quick fan of me and I still hold that record in high regard having bought most of their work since, including a raw 10″ split with Taake a few years back.

‘Seven Are They‘ is essentially a 10″ EPs worth of music on a deluxe 12″ display with two roughly eight minute songs recorded back in 2020 and refined since. As was the case with ‘Cult of the Goat‘ some additional guitars on this record come by way of second guitarist Lava, best known for his work in the black/death metal years of Aeternus (late 90’s/early 2000’s) and in Amok (Norway). The material here does not stray drastically from the focus of their first two records though I would say the intensity of opener “Seven Are They” matches the earlier 90’s wrath and menace of ‘Cult of the Dragon‘ with its simple scale-and-return verse riff and the snarling groove broken into as the last third of the song rounds out. Vocals are more rasped than growled this time around and have a decidedly classic feeling cadence to match the aforementioned grooves.

“Twice Seven They Are” is no less of an ‘old school’ black metal feature as Deathcult strides in at an epic, folken plod to start before holding that groove for a heavy metal-leaning piece overall. Though this initially feels like something a bit different to start, and the shout-along vocals are a brilliant touch to be sure, it generally matches the gait and the vibe of the opener. Otherwise there is some precedence set in previous work considering the ground covered by their first two LPs. There is a sort of back to the roots and garage-level feeling to not only this EP but most all of their work to date, a raw and live atmosphere which retains the first-to-second wave and beyond scope of their work. This release retains some additionally notable dynamic to its recording as the band handed off the mastering duties to the always impressive Satanic Audio this time around. If they were planning a full-length in this style I’d say these production values do well to capture the essence of Deathcult in a believably analog feeling state where that level of in-motion performance can still be felt.

With just under sixteen minutes of music to consider here I’ve nothing particularly deep or revolutionary to say here other than the ‘old school’ black metal feeling of this EP is palpable, the render allows every performance to grind through, and the songcraft here is tuneful and theatric enough that it serves as an appropriate vessel for the intensity one’d expect from Deathcult while doing well to present something new from the band on both pieces. A high recommendation.

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