KRIEMHILD is a metal band from Sweden who formed in 2021; "Face The Wrath," is their full length debut.  Their overall is definitely melodic death but that doesn't tell the full dynamics of their sound.  The vibe is very much one of modern tone but also heavier hitting than most other melodic death.  Both vocally and musically, I can hear a black metal influence as well.  To top it all, it can be thrashy as well.

It is an ambitious and impressive package, especially when you consider this is their first album.  I do have a few criticisms though, especially in the way the album sounds.  I said it, is modern and that extends to the production—the sound is loud and clear but a bit thin for my tastes.  It doesn't have much "Oomph" on the bottom end either.  I feel  the songwriting could be cleaned up a notch or two, specifically with the length of the songs.  The album is 53 minutes long but it feels much, much longer when I listened from beginning to end-it is a very tiring experience.  If the album was condensed to forty minutes or so, I'd feel more comfortable taking this trip again.  Of course, then there would be less songs or the ones presented needing to be trimmed.  Honestly, both ideas are acceptable.  Only one song is six minutes long but even still they all feel about a minute or so too long.

With all that being said, there is much to enjoy about this album.  Filip's vocals are pretty damn good, hovering between a melodic scream and a blackened screech.  There is just enough reverb/echo on the vocals to pack a punch but not be annoying. As one might have guessed, the album is very much riff based.  With the drums being programmed and the bass lost in the mix, the guitars and vocals are very much of the focus. "Vengeful Acts," displays that focus with a hard hitting yet melodic groove in the album's opening seconds.  The vocals ride alongside well the riffs, creating a catchy cadence.  Around a minute and a half in, the band displays their penchant for thrashing about, willing to pull the focus from melody to faster paced style when the song needs it.

"The Demon's Wrath," is a more somber song, a thrashy despotic style like modern KREATOR might do.  The melodies take on a more organic tone here, meaning they seem to fit in naturally with the song as it goes from somber to more focused anger. The album actually gets better as it goes, a sort of reverse Vienna sausage situation. "The Torture Ritual," signifies  the beginning of that trend.  The song is full of tightly wound, hard hitting proto thrash riffs that meld in with the melodic portions.  By the end of the song, we have a mini epic that brings both atmospheric and a kick to the face equally.

"Room To Suffer," is a banger, one of the more brutal songs on the album, but with a lot of good stuff going on in it.  The thrash attack immediately sets the tone within seconds and the guitars open up greatly as everything plays out.  Black metal tempo and riffs skewer the song a little over halfway through but the real magic is the thick, fat groove that ends the song. The last track is "The Hate For You Will Never Fade," and gives the album a big finish.  The drums are programmed well here, providing a foundation that remains rock solid to bolster the song during its more melodic riffs during the first half.  The barrage of drumming in the final moments leads to a melodic ending that caps the whole album off.

For a debut album, "KRIEMHILD's "Face The Wrath," is solid and with a little more focus on their part, I suspect their next album will be even better.