One more Black Metal release from Indie Recordings falls into my hands. The TULUS album wasn't that bad and I just wanted to see what's the deal behind this label (concerning its bands). Let's see if ISKALD's album will satisfy my unholy christraping needs (too much MARDUK, huh?). Although Shades Of Misery is a title that reminds me of whiny Goth bands, I will give it a try.

ISKALD was formed in Sortland, Norway, in early 2005 by two youngsters. Larsen (19) and Krekling (18) back then wanted to create some ice-cold Black Metal that would hit people down like a snow blizzard. Some demos and an EP (Northern Twilight) were released and then ISKALD managed to sign with Indie Recordings to release their debut album entitled Shades Of Misery.

ISKALD's Shades Of Misery seems to be a really nice album full of great Black Metal melodies and mind blowing tempos. Even though these guys are youngsters, they surely know how to compose some nice shit! Their old school Black Metal has been enriched with some catchy Thrash elements giving the music the heaviness it needs. The sound has also helped a lot with this, since no underground Black Metal production would have shown their music's true identity. That's why the band recorded this album at the famous Ballerina Audio (VINTERSORG, NAGLFAR) with producer Nils Johannson.
Influenced by bands like DARKTHRONE and MAYHEM, and a sound that resembles to bands like NAGLFAR and SVARTSKOGG, ISKALD deliver an album that will definitely be in your CD player for a long time. Not better than incredible releases like the latest WATAIN, MAYHEM or ROTTING CHRIST albums, but it is an album that stands on top of many Black Metal fake shit that keep flooding the market.

Their young age and the fact that is just their debut album make me have high hopes for this band. I think the name ISKALD will be much higher in the near future. Remember the name mates. I'll be looking forward to their second album to see if they can stand proud or fall like many others have fallen.