Norwegian boyscout metal – 80%
The_Bride_Wears_Black, May 9th, 2025
Written based on this version: 2021, Digital, Season of Mist (Bandcamp)
Album number 9 for these black metal veterans, and they’re taking us on a camping trip through their home region of Sogndal, Norway’s Wild North West (WNW). I’m not even kidding, this is the soundtrack I’d love to hear while hiking across the Norwegian mountains in the fall. There are a lot of synths here that portray an autumnal breeze, this is evident already from the intro (which is also the title track). Vreid pay homage to the untamed beauty of Norwegian nature, and they do it with an adequate sound palette. The overall production, tempo changes, the atmosphere coming from the riffs, they all coalesce into a solid tribute to Norway’s vast and rugged landscapes, where you feel at home yet at the same time are overwhelmed by solitude. The album structure and storyline are logically built and fully make sense. From literally packing our bags and heading out into the wild in the opening track to returning home safely at the very end – as depicted by the sense of relief coming from the piano play.
There’s one thing that bothers me during the title track and that’s the annoying ‘slow blastbeat’. I get it though with regards to the album’s concept, you can’t go any faster because we’re hiking steep uphill. Still I don’t like that kind of playing, you either go all-in or you don’t go at all. What a contrast with ‘Wolves At Sea’, this is how it should be done. Once again really digging those synths here, painting mental images of a coastal wind along the cliffs – this track really is a grower. The next day we’re waking up to a beautiful sunrise on ‘The Morning Red’ with its melancholic theme. Some distances are too large to cover by foot though. A horse, my kingdom for a horse! ‘Shadows of Aurora’ has an excellent, funny, galloping riff. Halfway our trip we have some obstacles to overcome, such as the fierce ‘Spikes of God’. Sitting around the campfire, relaxing after our adventures in the wild, looking up to the stars, we’re feeling ‘Dazed and Reduced’. This track is more hardrock-based, with a laid-back ambience. I’m only missing a guest vocalist here, because Sture isn’t exactly known for his vocal capabilities. His black metal rasps are already very generic, but his attempt at clean singing here kind of ruins it for me. As we make our way back home, ‘Shadowland’ has the appropriate mood to recover from our escapade in Vreid’s Wild North West.
Altogether, this is yet another strong Vreid album. It doesn’t hold up to the standards set on the previous album, the excellent ‘Lifehunger’, but at no point during its runtime does WNW disappoint either. Vreid rarely does. Not everything they’ve ever done is world class, but they never fall below the lower limit either. WNW works best as a whole and keeps getting better once you’ve understood its essence.
Why are you still reading this? That’s enough screentime for today. Go outside for a walk through Vreid’s Wild North West.
80/100
Recommended luggage: Wolves At Sea, The Morning Red, Shadows Of Aurora
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