NORNIR formed in Germany in 2014. A traditional Norwegian Black Metal outfit, they released their debut EP in 2017, titled "Urd." Today, the band gives us an early preview of their debut full-length, titled "Verdandi," which contains seven new tracks.

"Kveld" leads off the album, with cold winds and a thunderstorm, and the promise of something wicked on its way. Some vocal chants appear in the mist, over top of light and hypnotic drumming, segueing into "Vergessenheit," which is a fast-moving track with a linear riff and raging vocals. The guitar lines are very traditional as is the drumming, and the entirety of the song is both angry and depressing at the same time. "Natt" is over ten minutes in length. It opens with clean guitar notes and more of the clean vocal chants from the beginning of the album, over a bed of what sounds like an old, scratched record. It is deep and dark, descending the thin and withering steps to Hell. While the vocals rage, the riffs paint a despondent picture of the coming of the end of the world.

"Transzendenz" is a much shorter song, at just over five minutes in length. It follows a fairly traditional structure throughout, with only a couple riff changes, and although quite harrowing, is mostly fueled by the vocals. "Yggdrasil og Nornene" opens with soft clean guitars and more of those clean vocals that seem to lead into each track. The music builds in layers and really leaves a lasting impression, coming to a culmination at the end. "Isvisden I Nord" is pretty raucous out of the gate, going straight for your throat with raging vocals and a veritable wall of guitars. From there it has an almost NWOBHM feeling. Brilliantly done.

"Valhalla's Call" closes the album. Valhalla was of course the landing spot of the dead in Norse mythology, a place where fallen heroes met with their kin. A very fitting ending to the album, as it sounds like the band's not going down without a fight. It's a gut-wrenching ending to a wonderful album and you can feel yourself taking the after-life flight to Valhalla as well. Overall, this was a great nod to the themes and elements that the genre was built on, but also adding in their own twists of personality so that you can feel where they are coming from individually as a band. They play with confidence and professionalism and I think you will like what they have to offer here.