There are at least two Black Metal bands in Sweden with the moniker BLODSKAM. One from Stockholm, the other Norrkoping.  Today we'll be focusing on the one from Stockholm. BLODSKAM was formed by brothers Aghora and Dödfödd in the way back of 1998. They went dormant until 2014 and five years after their reemergence they released their debut album, "Lá-Bas," on Suicide Records. On September 23, 2022 they issued their second full-length, "Ave Eva," also on Suicide. "Ave Eva" is Black Metal at its purest-raw and visceral sonic assault complemented by an intelligent albeit bleak narrative.

In promo material the band explains the album "reinterprets the biblical genesis and celebrates the destructive force of Eve. The six songs tell the story of her bloody mission to destroy the earth, slaughter all its creatures and finally undo God's creation to restore infinite chaos." Gotta love the depth of Black Metal! The narrative builds on what some might construe as the Lilith myth, adds a fundamental twist, then follows it to its ultimate conclusion-death, destruction, rebirth.

The album is fairly short, clocking out at 35 minutes, which is an awfully brief space to cover the creation, destruction, and rebirth of life, the universe, and everything, but Black Metal is nothing if not to the point. As on their first album, the duo is joined by Kim Filppu on drums, Dödfödd again takes on vocals, and Aghora all guitars. Both brothers contribute to the lyrics.

The album kicks off with "Perverse Creation" which sets an aggressive pace and establishes the narrative context. It's definitely a solid track but it's with the second track, "Scales and Skin," that album really gains purchase, digging into a measured tempo of grounded aggression. Easily one of my favorite tracks on the album.

The album then falls into a steady attack with "This Lonely War" and "Sharpening the Knives" which seem to serve mostly to propel the narrative. It's with "The Decapitation of the First Man" that the band shifts into a more interesting mix of tempos, easing into the track with some dark shades of Doom before modulating into a more traditional Black Metal assault. The track features a nice deconstructive break a little past mid-point as well as great feedback-laden outro.

The final track, "Chaos Reigns," is the most complex and intriguing track of the album. It starts with the sounds of a tolling bell and a raging fire which are then overtaken with cosmic distortion that resolves into heavy fisted riffs. At mid-point the tempo quickens into a Black Metal hellscape which bleeds into epic choirs, cosmic distortion, some sort of spoken word intonation, and then more fire. Altogether a truly satisfying ending to the album as well as conclusion to the story.

"Ave Eva" is befitting continuation of the BLODSKAM trajectory, showcasing the duo's songwriting skills alongside their already well-established musicianship. I also have to say the cover art by Jonas Holmberg is incredible. This is a solid find for any Black Metal fan. Highly recommended.