Svikt — I Elendighetens Selskap

Svikt are a black metal band hailing from Norway, and  "I Elendighetens Selskap" is their debut CD. What we have here is not very surprisingly classic nordic black metal: fast, unforgiving and pretty well put together.  The mix of demonic vocals, grim guitar,  dirty bass and drums is effective, even if doesn't add much to the history of the genre. Their songs are quite catchy and show lots of variety in pace and riffing, making this record very easy to digest.  All their lyrics are in Norwegian, making them probably incomprehensible for most people, but on the other hand more kvlt than stupid fools that sing in English.

Svikt's sound is somewhere between clean and filthy, and it's clear that a lot of and care thought went into this part of the product. They thread carefully in a "modern" kind of set-up (I don't think this was recorded on four-track tape recorders or reel to reels), but still true to the rawness of classic Norwegian black metal.

Their bass is terribly distorted and mostly overwhelmed by the layers of monotone guitar, and vocals tower high up on top of everything, generally growled and shrieked but with a few concessions to epic clean and deep chanting. The only thing that baffled me a bit is the drums: they definitely serve their purpose but their overly digital sound (I guess it's a drum machine or computer programming) clashes a bit with the mass of murky black metal it should sustain. It's a bit of a shame that they're not integrated better with the rest of the sounds, and I hope that Svikt will correct this flaw in the future.

In conclusion, "I elendighetens Selskap" will safely satisfy most black metal purists, but probably bore those looking for innovation of any sort. It's a honest and good black metal album, with a gloomy atmosphere and fast, powerful if not exactly original songs. If you want a dose of traditional Norwegian black metal you won't regret listening to this CD.