review by: Mladen Škot

What a relief. There must be hundreds of "true black metal" bands around trying to do this, while Angantyr just. bleeding. does it. What we're talking about are misanthropic songs made out of a few simple parts, backed up by even simpler drums, endlessly repetitive and never, ever boring. Be it the guitar sound, distorted into a crashing glass miasma, the throat-ripping random screams, the stubborn drums or the sum of all parts together, it doesn't matter. What matters is that it makes you listen and doesn't let go.

The one-man band Angantyr is named after an old Danish king, who in the 700s mobilized the Danish fleet and kicked the Dutch apostles and Italian bishops out of the country when they first tried to Christianize Denmark. While the three tracks on display here won't actually kick any Christians out of present-day Denmark, the raw hatred emanating from them will keep anyone but the like-minded individuals far enough. From the mesmerizing Darkthrone blizzard beats and a subtle main riff of the opening track, over the simple, slow, marching-through-the-snow 13-minute second track to the last, live track (although it's not known who played the other instruments) there is not a dull moment in sight. Ynleborgaz knows what he wants to do and does it the way it should be done. Not original, but tell him that to his face if you dare.

On the other hand, Nasheim, a Swedish one-man outfit, still has a few things to learn. The 25-minute epic "Sövande Mjöd Vill Jag Tömma" goes through highs and lows, blastbeats and ambient drone, before settling for an endless double bass drum blur with a slow, vast and poignant guitar melody. The track, being almost completely instrumental, could have been shorter, or had more diversifying elements. As it is, there's an epic, dark, endless atmosphere, but with a feeling that something is missing. The brilliant outro guitar melody shows what could have been. This way or the other, it's still more involving than any of the two 30-minute tracks from the last Moonsorrow release without even trying. (Angantyr 8/10, Nasheim 6.8/10)