Switzerland's STORTREGN is an intriguing mixture of some of the best parts of both Black Metal and Death Metal. Some might call this Blackened Death Metal, but that's honestly too simplistic to describe their sound. I'd never heard of them before this came across my desk, but "Evocation of Light" is a cracker of an album that deserves a re-release on vinyl. I would liken this album as their "Blackwater Park" type of album. With aforementioned magnum opus from OPETH, it served as a demarcation line from what they had previously done and showing the world which way they were going from this point forward. "Evocation of Light" does this for STORTREGN, and tees up the hype enough as they prepare to storm the world with the tours that are certainly to follow this release.

The one thing I really enjoyed about this album is the amount of variety between each of the songs. Do you have everything from serene acoustic guitar passages to bleak atmospheric Black Metal moments to ferocious Death Metal annihilation and everything in between. More than a few times, I'm reminded about some of the best bits of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE (yeah, I know). But truthfully, STORTREGN Avoid some of the "Metal-by-numbers" banality that so many bands in this genre are guilty of doing. there's many a twist and turn that is somewhat unexpected, but much appreciated as a listener.

Everyone's performances on this album are top-notch, and it's obvious that a lot of painstaking detail went into the re-release of this album. From the vinyl being cut in a gorgeous marble-esque color to recruiting "Necrolord" Kristian Wåhlin himself (whose album artwork includes acts like DARK FUNERAL and ENSIFERUM amongst many others) to contribute for the album cover, STORTREGN are making moves to establish themselves as a top-tier band in the Extreme Metal scene. These Swiss Metallers are definitely torchbearers for their scene, and I'm glad I got the chance to give this album a spin. And yes, as always, BUY THIS ALBUM!!!