Concept albums are a very tricky proposition and more often than not they tend to misfire on the intended audience. However, Norwegian Thrash/Black Metal band VESEN has hit the nail right on the head with their latest offering. Formed in the year 1999, the band went about releasing no less than 4 demos independently before they released their first album "Ugly" in 2005. The band managed to pump out 4 more albums in the following 7 years before releasing the concept album "Rorschach". Although the core of the band has been the same, the band went through a lot of changes in their lineup before settling on the present stable members. The concept of this album is about mental illness and it tells the story of a person trying to escape their mental health problems and it culminates in the last track "Final Insult". The name of the album, "Rorschach", is a physiological test in which the psychologists use the result of the test to gauge one's personality characteristics and emotional functioning. Longtime collaborator and consultant Stein Sund, who joined the band as a permanent bass player, engineered the album. The album also boasts of a killer cover artwork that looks like a Rorschach test inkblot.

The album starts off with "Damnation Path" and the first riff is a twin guitar attack before guttural vocals chime in. The 3 minute track gallops along rapidly and along with its heir, "Pray for Fire", the band put out an impressive array of riffs and lead guitar solos. "Target: Horizon" is another frenzied song that follows and although the album starts off at a frenetic pace, there is a lingering doubt whether the album will give its listeners anything to take away in terms of originality. Just when I thought that the band would churn out such fast paced barnburners, "Blood, Bones and Pride" comes on. This song is easily my favorite of the album. It starts out chaotically and slowly before a chugging fast riff takes over able drumming. The song moves along at a leisurely and evil pace and is perhaps one of the better songs I have heard in a while. A simple devilish hook anchors the song coupled with scratchy vocals and the track provides ample opportunity for the audience to sing along. The album then gets progressively better with "Screaming Sane" and "Vulgar, Old and Sick Blasphemy" a couple of Thrash songs with Black Metal influences that would remind one of early SEPULTURA. "Away the Tormentor" is a song on the slower side and it reeks of Black/Death Metal influences, all 7 minutes of it. This turbulent song is quite disturbing to listen to and is an epic and a powerful track. The album closes out with "Final Insult", a Thrash heavy song with the familiar rasping vocals to keep the furious riffs company.

This is easily one of the better records that I have heard in the recent past and I absolutely enjoyed the glorious mix of Thrash, Black and Death Metal. The band manages to tick all the boxes with this album and they have said that the new album is a mix of the style of music the band used to play and a new direction that they intend to take. The music is very much steeped in Old School Thrash with hints of Classic Metal as well. The album is a powerful and the tracks are addictive as I was compelled to listen to it in a loop. Blackened Thrash Metal at its finest and 41 minutes of raw aggression makes this an album not to be overlooked.<