Contrary from what you might expect from seeing their name, the Black Metal band DØDSFERD - which I guess means "horse of death" in Swedish or Norwegian, but don't take my word for it - are not from Scandinavia, but from a country down South, namely Greece. Greece is famous for its Black Metal - in the 1990s perhaps second only to Scandinavia in terms of proliferation - but DØDSFERD don't sound very Greek, so to speak, so the name could be seen as a kind of sign. I wasn't familiar with their music, but looking at their back catalogue one immediately can see that they are a very hard toiling band - "Diseased Remnants of a Dying World" is their tenth release since the band formed in 2001 - and after listening to their latest effort I'm very impressed and I wonder if they so far got the recognition that they deserve. Their music could be described in a nutshell as Black Metal with Depressive Rock touches and Progressive leanings.

The album opens with a slow, melancholic song "My Father, My Wrath!" that has more in common with Depressive Rock than with Black Metal - there are no harsh vocals and the guitar plays some smooth melodic leads. The song is unassuming but beautiful and has a sorrowful atmosphere that enwraps the soul. The next song "An Existence Without Purpose" comes in with full-on ferocity. After the initial outburst there is a mid-tempo section with a groovy, catchy riff. The eleven minutes long song shifts between melancholic - but catchy - and aggressive, there are nice guitar leads and buildups and a constant sense of development in the song. The title track starts off slow but heavy and with a great lead melody. The sixteen minutes long song goes through different motions, one section flowing into another. At one point we get the aggressive catchiness and drive of SHINING, another section has a strong Depressive Suicidal Black Metal accent, an air of despair reminiscent of LIFELOVER. "Loyal to the Black Oath" shifts between an almost soft DSBM riff and groovy, epic sounding melodic riff, the latter half of the song is faster and heavier - there is fast tremolo picking but also a hefty dose of groove. The album closes with a long outro which is actually very artful and certainly no filler

For me, DØDSFERD's music has an immediate appeal: the rich atmosphere, expansive songwriting, great riffs and guitar work and a versatile vocal performance ranging from unhinged screaming typical from DSBM to tough and aggressive, all that draws me to the music. I wasn't quite sure if the length of the songs is always justified - especially in the case of the title song - but after listening to it carefully a couple of times the composition started making sense to me. And that is a sign of good music - music that is immediately understandable is by necessity a bit limited or banal. As far as Black Metal is concerned I don't hesitate to say that this is one of may favorite releases of the year.