NYRST is a black metal band from Iceland, who formed in 2013 as SKUGGSJÁ but changed to their current moniker in 2016. “Völd” is their second full length album and they have released a demo as well. “Völd” is an interesting album that is well balanced across a lot of different sounds within the black metal pantheon. The vocals are varied and interesting, going a long way to add a lot of dynamics to the band’s overall sound. The band adds elements of dissonance and even doom to their repertoire but never forgetting that they are a black metal band first and foremost. The production isn’t pristine nor is it overly raw. In fact, for this style, I’d say this production is pretty close to exactly what is needed.

The atmosphere, no doubt boosted by the aforementioned production, is oftentimes dismal and murky but it works no matter what path they are taking across the individual songs. The album begins with the title track and its rumbling sounds of an oncoming storm. Classic black metal riffs get the song started with some low growls; I love black metal that uses growls and I wish more bands embraced this. The bass and drums create a nice groove that helps the song settle into a flow. The vocals turn from growls to a rough type of clean shout—sounds great fits in right alongside the more extreme aspects. By the time the song reaches its halfway point, the speed is faster and the riffs much more poignant in terms of heaviness. Around the five minute mark, the song becomes a total pit smasher, just non-stop destruction as the band zeroes in on optimum headbanging moments.

“Hrímvíti,” fires right out of the gate. The double bass is quite robust and with a decent pair of headphones it will sound like the thunderous march of an advancing army. After the onslaught ends, the song turns it down a slightly notch with slower, more dismal riffs and clean chanting. The drums during this moment are very interesting and keep the energy up. The song’s halfway point is a lot more atmospheric with more of the rough cleans but its a dense part of the song that sounds truly immense. The last moments of the song come full circle back to its earlier moments, ending the song as vicious as it started.

“Eilíft eldhaf” is all guile and fury in the beginning. The blackened screams are amazing and lead what is one of the best songs on the album. The guitars go beyond standard tremolo picking and offer their own epic ride. Around two minutes in the song fades away for a clean instrumental section (well, mostly, there are some chants) where the bass really shines. Despite how different this sounds, it works for the song as a whole. The final song is “Af fjarri ströndum” and the drums alone make it a fantastic album closer. The song opens with melodic guitars that build up to an evil blackened tone. Once the song gets moving, it sounds unstoppable and has a slightly doom feel to it…very sorrowful and bleak.

All in all, NYRST’s “Völd” is quite the nice surprise for me. Unfortunately I missed it when it came out in earlier December of last year but it is for sure, retroactively, one of the better black metal releases I heard from last year. This one has a variety of moods and styles that will appeal to a broad category of metal fans.