Koldbrann — Vertigo
As I mentioned above, this is pure and innocent Norwegian black metal - nothing more and nothing less. From the very start of the record Koldbrann's intentions are very clear: their sound is simple, "cold" and straight to the point. The classic black metal cacophonic riffing is kept intact and the song structures are based on mantra-like repetition and thrashing blast beats as usual. In a couple of cases Koldbrann's guitar solos sound too corny to be true, but that's also part of their charm I guess. As with lots of recent black metal releases the punk feeling is very evident and the production is between minimal/crude and polished. Whoever mastered this record was careful in keeping this dangerous balance: let's say it's more clean and refined than Darkthrone's latest efforts but it would still sound like complete noise to average joes who have no metal health in their blood.
Vocals are really good, variegated in delivery and effects, and sometimes completely anthemic and catchy ("Stolichnaya Smert" has great and silly choruses and a very addicting pace). It's clear that these guys had fun recording this stuff.
I appreciated the insertion of three short synth-based numbers, "Hjertets Holodomor", "Terminal Transnistrii" and "Sans Soleil", all of which are better than the usual black metal intros. Avoiding to simply relegating the weird sounds to the start and to the ending of the record was a bold move. Hails! Koldbrann didn't shy out on the use of synths in other tracks either and the way they blend with their old school black metal sound is remarkable and fortunately leagues away from turning this album into symphonic wank. A special mention in this tiny corner of bizarre sounds also goes to the brief tape hiss & manipulation heard in "Goat Lodge".
Of course apart from these welcome "innovations" there's not much new here, so those who are tired of "Trve Norwegian Black Metal" can definitely look somewhere else, but there's no denying that "Vertigo" is a good effort. This record is very enjoyable and fun and at times classic. I'm sure I will be spinning at least two or three of these tracks for months to come, if not years. I'm looking forward for more.