On April 3, 2020, SVARTKONST released "Black Waves." SVARTKONST is a one-man blackened death metal band from Sweden. The man behind the band is Rickard Törnqvist. He originally formed the band as WARG back in 2010 and released an EP titled "Vermin" in 2011. In 2012, the band name was changed to SVARTKONST. Under the new moniker, the debut full-length album "Devil's Blood" was released in 2018.

SVARTKONST's brand of blackened death metal is a great mix of bitter, cold black metal and vicious death metal. With one-man bands, I sometimes find that the music focuses solely on one instrument (or the vocals) to the detriment of the supporting instruments. The other elements of the music serve to support with barely any unique character of their own. On this album, every element is excellent. The riffs are great throughout, whether they're slow or fast paced. The drums sound good and play a few interesting rhythms that tie the songs together. The primal vocals of Törnqvist have a great echoing effect throughout.

The album kicks ass from the beginning of the opener "Death Magic." The midtempo riff, pulsing drums, and echoing growls create a track with an evil edge. In the middle of the track, it slows down to a snail's pace with a high, melancholy guitar melody before returning to the riff and pace of the beginning of the track. "I Am The Void" features a searing, cold black metal riff mixed with more traditional death metal bridges. The third track "World Ablaze" is fast and pummels the listener with blast beats and savage riffs.

In comparison, "Stray In The Dark" slows down the pace considerably and is more reminiscent of a death/doom song. The music is moody and heavy, building in intensity throughout the track. The riffs and drumming are restrained right up until the climax, which is climactic and emotional. Though it's different from the feel of the rest of the tracks on this album, the addition of this slower paced track changes things up in a good way.

With "Mountains Of Flesh," we are back to business as usual. The fast-paced riff is almost thrashy. "Ruins Of Splendour" is another track that blends together black and death metal very well. The riffs, vocals, and drumming work well together to create the band's evil sound. The album closer is the titular track "Black Waves." Unique to this track is an acoustic guitar intro that is unexpectedly lovely. The acoustic guitar returns intermittently between the melodic and cold riffs.

Overall, I really recommend SVARTKONST. Everything, from the instrumentation to the production, works well together. The final product is an expertly combined mix of the unrelenting brutality of death metal and the cold bleakness of black metal.