VORDR, a Black Metal band out of Finland, come forth with a new full-length album "Vordr" Formed in 2003 in Finland, the band has had a myriad of releases. Most being self-titled releases, "Vordr" is their fourth full-length album. I know there is a draw for the real guttery sounding recorded music, but with as many releases as VORDR has had, you would think that there would be at least some sort of better production on this album. The recording sounds way too messy, so it is hard to differentiate the musicianship I am hearing. Honestly, the intro track "Erianoisiv" gave me some hope for the remainder of the album.

It was a pretty interesting instrumental. I can appreciate that higher tempo thrashy sounding spin that VORDR provides with their black metal. I can say it has a lot of energy to it, which isn't the usual case for the guttural sounding recorded black metal bands I've heard. They are certainly not a boring band. "Candle in the Astral Wind" has a cool rock and roll style to it. So, there isn't a whole lot lost on me for this album musically, the recording is just brutal. Again, I know that there is a certain niche group of people that go in for this raw recording style, but it is completely lost on me. There is a lot of style going on with the music. A lot of tracks have that higher tempo thrash sound, but then you get hit with the prototypical black metal sound, like in "Chained in Recollections of a Life that Once Was". I really wish the recording was so awful, because I can certainly hear somewhat differing styles in the music. I would just like to hear more of the different instruments clearly. It is mostly just a glob of music. I do like the more punk sounding tracks in "Soulbirds" and "Driftwood". There is something here, but the recording just kills it for me.

Well, I honestly can't say a whole lot of things I appreciate about "Vordr". I can hear some definite stylistic changes in the music, but the recording is such a mess. If you like incredibly raw sounding recorded black metal, then check this album out. VORDR is a much faster black metal sounding band than I'm used to, which is cool.