Det Kätterska Förbund — Lidaverken Del I: Att i Vådeld Förgås

Death industrial titans Nordvargr and Trepaneringsritualen team up to form the mega unit Det Kätterska Förbund. Taking nearly five years to finish, Lidaverken Del I: Att i Vådeld Förgås sees the light of day on Cold Spring Records. As bleak and dreary as one would expect from these frosty overlords, this collaboration also adds a bit of warmth with its oftentimes near-danceable grooves. With seven well put together tracks, this Swedish supergroup delivers the cold, metallic grimness we've come to expect from both its members and the label.

Opening with a bitterly cold pair of synths, "He Will Fall" is the statement that Det Kätterska Förbund was built to make. Rhythmic chanting and ritualistic drums give the cold oscillations context, and this dark, cold summoning can commence. While setting a great tone for the album, the first track isn't overly dense or immutable, leaving itself open for complements from the following songs. Picking elements that move easily and are vibrantly toned (either high or low) Det Kätterska Förbund is able to craft songs from pieces of those before it in a sort of dadaistic approach. Different forms emerge and showcase the varied aspects of both artists and their collective goal with this project. For example, "Endless Golgatha" transforms into a slow, electronic "dance" track by its end and "Sacred Ground" takes an approach or rhythmic, beginning into grim ending. The fluidity on Lidaverken shows great creativity, but the ability to tie all the sounds together to form an album vs a collection shows skill. There is a tendency to eschew the harsh noisiness associated with death industrial, but that's not to say it isn't there. "05 Bar Ar Broderlos Rygg," "03 Att i Vadeld Forgas," and "07 Vanhelgat Varde Ditt Namn" make up for it. 

When two big genre names come together, it has the possibility to devolve into a rambling ego-fest. Thankfully, Nordvargr and Trepaneringsritualen put the music first and crafted a very fine, cold, grim album. Their varied approaches also showcase the roots of death industrial and how it is still ultimately and actively connected to other genres. By bringing these influences back in, Det Kätterska Förbund bring some interesting new life and angles into the genre. That's not to say that every album should have them nor that every artist can pull it off. Lidaverken Del I: Att i Vådeld Förgås is definitely worth checking out.