Skendöd - Vanskapt (2008)

Band: Skendöd

Album: Vanskapt

Year: 2008

Country: Iceland/Sweden

Since it's still winter and cold as hell here in Sweden you get to listen to a lot of DSBM. Kind of like people associate ice-cream with summer, DSBM and winter goes perfectly hand in hand. Skendöd is a collaboration between two persons, one from Iceland and one from Sweden. Though I don't know much about the music-scene from Iceland, Sweden has a very strong tradition with good depressive music, must be the weather. The album "Vanskapt" is the only release so far from these guys and was recorded and released without the help of a label. Now everyone can record and release an album without significant knowledge or skill but very few bands reach out to a greater audience that way. That is were Skendöd excels from the rest, both music-wise and production-wise. These guys sure knows what they're doing. The music is dark as to be expected from this kind of music and both guitars and drums are executed in a excellent way with layered riffs and melodies and very intense drumming. The vocals provided by Swedish Ulf is a little different from many other band due to that instead of using high pitched shrieking he has a lower and rawer register that suits really well with the dark music. I think that these people has really found a great formula for writing cold and atmospheric Black Metal. I mean what could be more dark and cold than the realms of Iceland? Just adding a little touch of the Swedish forest-landscape and you cant go wrong.

Song(s) you should listen to: Tiden Bränner Allt which translated means "Time Burns Everything" is a really good song that shows the range of the skill that Skendöd possesses. Especially when the music suddenly fades and turns into a great performance of string instruments that really sets the mood without being cliché. From there the music builds up and then unleashes in sheer desperation as the music progresses into more and more darker realms. Some blast beats is thrown in as well and who doesn't love some good old blast beat?

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