SKRÄCKEN dropped their debut EP, The Presence, in 2022. The band noted they were inspired by night paralysis which included an old lady in an 18th-century dress. Skräcken, btw, translates to “the crack” . . . like a crack in the fabric of nightmares through which sinister beings creep to hover at our bedsides and feast on your silent screams. So, it’s not altogether surprising that the band should disappear for three years. I mean, isn’t that what happens? As they say: They notice when you notice. But they’re back. The band that is, not that thing may have or may have not dragged them away into the void. The band is back, and they release their debut full-length, Echoes from the Void, on June 20 via Dying Victims Productions.

 SKRÄCKEN hails from Gothenburg where the pressure to not only be good but to be utterly fantastic mounts high and heavy. To help in the endeavor, SKRÄCKEN does bring some considerable horsepower. Vocalist Sofie-Lee Johansson comes to us from the ashes of NIGHT VIPER and guitarist Martin Nordin was with LUCIFER for about seven years. Other pedigrees exist in the band, of course, this is no team neophytes. And it all comes together on an album steeped with as much atmosphere as well-crafted, thoughtful songwriting plus plenty of doomy hooks.

Like a lot of heavy music that comes out of Sweden, SKRÄCKEN is hard but not extreme. Mindful of melody and harmonies, there’s less discord than their extreme metal cousins and even the lyrics are haunting but not evil. The presence of evil then proves more of a foreboding hint than an IRL manifestation. Which is just fine. I mean, there’s enough evil in the world without ushering it through your headset. That’s what Black Metal is for.   

Even so, this album bears repeating. A lot. Sofie-Lee’s vocals are spectacular, and the band is extremely tight. It sounds like they’ve been playing together for ages. And I guess three years in metal is almost ages. Best tracks tend to be their longer ones: “Her Presence” and “Wasteland.” But even their shorter tracks tend to show rich sophistication like the bluesy “Witch” and the hypnotic “Visions of Fire.”

Great female-fronted metal bands from Sweden are almost a cliché these days. But to be honest, I’ll take them all. SKRÄCKEN may find themselves in a deeply saturated field, but the demand seems to be strong enough to soak it all up.