A one man Black Metal band from Bergen that sings only in Norwegian, sound familiar? Yeah? Well, forget about that, we're not talking about the infamous Varg Vikernes, we're talking about Ildsnit and his one man project SVADILFARE. And as the melodic intro to "Flertall i Blinde" began, I was expecting something interesting, and I got it, but is that good or bad? That's the actual question, well, the answer is a bit complex, since it's a little of both.

When I was a kid, I used to eat, drink and sleep Black Metal for a long while, Norwegian Black Metal was in its prime in the mid to late 90's, and I absolutely loved it, why am I saying all that? It's just the intro to me telling you that I'm very much used to horribly produced music, and some of the early incarnations of the second wave of Black Metal were indeed terribly produced. Fast forward to 2013, and sadly, some bands purposefully try to recreate that production, and SVADILFARE is no exception, the drums are muted, the guitars are badly distorted, and it's a real shame as it is plainly obvious that Ildsnit is an excellent musician, I'm not sure whether he tried to recreate the sound of old, or it was a lack of funds that caused this to be the worst produced album I've heard in a long time.

In all honesty, it just saddens me, just have a listen to "Fassefall", there are moments when the sounds is much crisper, especially during the melody in the middle of the track. The skill and songwriting are there, and had the album been produced with a higher standard and probably played with better equipment, this might have been one of the finest records of its genre released this year.