Legendary status isn't just handed out on a whim in the metal underground. A nebulous but cherished force in Norwegian black metal since the early 90s, Trelldom have never lost their caustic mystique or strong air of eccentricity. The band’s 1995 debut Til Evighet… remains the epitome of primitive, uncompromising purity, and each of their subsequent records has added depth and substance to the big, black picture.
They have, however, been less than prolific over the decades: …By The Shadows… arrives an ungodly 17 years after Trelldom’s last, widely praised album, Til Minne…, and sounds so unlike any previous efforts that it might as well be their second debut.
Dissonant, angular and blearily psychedelic, it absolutely reeks of madness and gives esteemed vocalist Gaahl the most extraordinary and surreal backdrop to pepper with his versatile, baritone rasp. Rather than inject perversity into the black metal blueprint for the sake of it, these songs emerge from the pitch-black fringes of progressive rock.
The Voice Of What Whispers is a genuinely unnerving entry point; a crazed, cracked-mirror distortion of atmospheric black metal, drifting inexorably through rapturous mists, it is thrillingly original. The same is true of Exit Existence, a more flamboyant piece that revels in its art rock intricacies and strange instrumentation.
Avant-rock sax squeals are an inspired addition to the mutant drone rock of Return The Distance, and the title track’s cacophonous, space rock throb is equal parts threatening and hypnotic. Most curious of all, I Drink Out Of My Head is a skullrattling post-punk riot with Gaahl in flat-out Nosferatu – via Bauhaus’s Pete Murphy – mode, and simmering undercurrents of psychedelia.
It is all quite mad, but endlessly fascinating too. Trelldom seem only to emerge when Gaahl has something interesting to say, and this uniquely warped return is as grimly immersive as it gets.
...By The Shadows... is out September 13 via Prophecy.
