As a fan of dark metal, this four track collection is a hallmark in the faith of the forgotten. Arkæon, hailing from the dark metal doom empire of Denmark, their 2024 release, "Når Bjerge bliver til Støv" release lives up to the long standing tradition of lo-hi fi, tremolo picking, wall of unpolished emotion characteristic of the infernal and diabolical, yet romantic genre.

The title track, "Når Bjerge bliver til Støv" opens with a fast and cold, on the razor's edge, vein cutting melody where dancing guitars let the blood of sacrifice and keep it flowing. The dreadfully delightful rhythmic, recurring vocalizations coffin dread-soaked lyrics that tame the movement which, behoven to the unholy genre, do indeed tickle the ears with chorus. On and on we are lowered deeper into the refrain, chorus two, chorus three that encases the cohesion of the track. Dare I blasphemy the notion of a hit, "Når Bjerge bliver til Støv" will feed the lust of any black metal fan.

"Skimmelpragt" leaks in with haunting overtures of layered guitars that pull my mind to the five points of the pentagram. A crushing, guttural howl follows that works to prepare us for a ride down the first chorus that creeps into my bones like the nerves of a viking horde paddling to battle down the Odense. Over and over the rapidity of the hard hitting bass and drums lap against the bow of lyrical structure and dynamic ups and downs that steers us gloomily to the shores of a song that ends in blood soaked doom.

"Den Første Sult", is an atmospheric track that ferments with the buzzes of an Exodus plague bent on destruction to form a transition into a back and forth chaos that delightfully tortures the corrupt and sludge-laden, black metal mind. I imagine myself listening to this track live, in a dark, smoke filled room surrounded by a legion of corpse painted souls. Together moving in a sweat soaked, drum drenched rhythm, faster and faster and as the song picks up then slows back down, the singer begins preaching the vocals of dark lore of a dreaded time, long ago, leading us in wailing, shoulder crushing dance as then the band before us, lifts us to the crescendo that we're begging for: Feral fury and hate buried in the promise that tomorrow may never come

"En Orm i Lysets Frugt" translated into the language of Bophmet, A Worm in the Fruit of Light, is a slow track that pulls me into the blackened land whose anthem of filth, decay, and ecstasy bares the dark truth of all that is to come. Droning bass, drum, and guitar rhythms are perched above charred vocals that cast a spell on me as I listen, nay beg, I cry, "Leviathan Waking", I'm sure it is so, so I follow, head bowed to the low refrain. An occasional beacon of guitar harmony glows among the piked heads of hypnotic repetition in a rhythm that marks that path that I'm sure leads to hell. I'm moved by this song, though slow and paced, lacking chorus or cohesion, as it plays on it seems to fall apart, only to be brought back together again by an echoing note or pierced chord, hung then dropped, kicked then stomped like a lullaby of demise.

The whole of "Når Bjerge bliver til Støv" ranges all and within the raw and emotional genre. With glints of past and present styles, overall, intermixed with mystical and powerful lyrics, strange and aloof guitar solos, and wild and passionate rhythms fans of almost any metal genre can appreciate what Arkæon has done here.