review by: Mladen Škot

The Norwegian Viking / punk / black / folk lunatic going by the name Sorg has returned, seemingly to prove how many absurd things he can combine into an hour of "True Norwegian AnArchistic Black Metal"... and get away with it. Sure enough, the listener is left perplexed... but, strangely, amazed.

On his second album, everything has the same starting point as on the debut, Fortapt Fra Verden I Vakkert Selvmord. But there's way more of that "everything." The "thanks" list is longer, the "piss off" list is longer, and the songs reach up to 15 minutes. Concerning the list of instruments Sorg played on Vikingtid og Anarki... don't ask. On most of the tracks there is a session drummer (Skarstein from Gravemachine), and Sorg took care of the rest... which is a lot. Guitars, synth / keys / piano, basses, drums, sheepbells, tambourine, and voices of every possible human and animal kind (clean, grim, choirs, conversations, animals, birds, whistling). Finally, Sorg also played seven Norwegian native instruments.

Vikingtid og Anarki is sixty minutes long. Being a young, raging, anarchistic misanthrope, Sorg isn't into writing meditative music or slow, pounding anthems. He wants it all, here and now. At all costs. As a result, the eight tracks more resemble a wild stream of thought than something actually pondered over for extended lengths of time. Viking melodies are literally everywhere: some proud, some poignant, some defiant, and some mocking. As if trying to put ten different moods into each track, Sorg carelessly assembled parts one after another, barely even making cohesive song structures. True black metal followed by sing-along chants, continued by ambient melancholy, thrash breaks, happy flutes or anthemic two-kick passages, everything is placed one after the other with no apparent order. And yet it's all good.

If the music might sound random, there is a method in the madness: Here we have one hyperactive and pissed-off young person, with too much talent and too little time, trying to leave a testimony of his presence. He rages in every possible direction, sees enemies everywhere, and tries to make a difference, as if telling the world, "you're all so bleak, you're all the same, and look at all that can be done and none of you has even tried."

Keeping in mind the sum of all things going on in every single moment of Vikingtid og Anarki, maybe the randomness wasn't really random. Sorg does what any good punk-influenced artist should be doing: He fights the system. You won't find anything stagnant here.

The sound has vastly improved. For starters, it's not mono any more. The guitars have a hurting, buzzing tone, and every instrument is natural and very well balanced. The composition has — although it might sound contradictory — also improved, and all the way to the end you'll be kept occupied and surprised. After at least five listens to Vikingtid og Anarki, you'll start noticing it gets better and better... until, finally, you understand what "AnArchistic Black Metal" stands for. Support SorgSvart or stay a slave to the system. (8/10)