Vanhelgd - Atropos Doctrina

Vanhelgd is a death metal band from Sweden, who formed in 2007.  “Atropos Doctrina” is their six full-length album; they also released an EP in 2010.

Although rooted in death metal, “Atropos Doctrina,” is an album with a black metal atmosphere.  It’s raw, grim, depressive, and constantly tearing on the edge of insanity.   Musically, it stands outside the edge of death metal as well, offering a variety of blackened and melodeath passages that push the band’s dynamics further.  Vanhelgd has a firm grasp on these ideas and how to use them; their sound is encompassing and they use everything in their arsenal to present this frigid, desolate landscape.

The vocals go a long way in presenting these ideas—they sound depraved through the use of growls and screams, both of which sound like they are about to snap and proceed to a mental collapse.  

The guitars weave in and out of the various genres with ease, their tone always keeping the feel of the music together so it all stays dark even when the focus shifts to a different perspective.  The drums and bass are mixed perfectly into the production, each of them offering a sound that is both robust and oppressive.

“Saliga äro de dödfödda,” opens with the album and it feels like a declaration of something, perhaps of war or some foreboding thing on the way.  The cadence of the vocals lends them a sort of barking, spoken word feel.  The riffs are heavy but atmospheric, dropping at the right moments alongside the drums to heighten the song’s sense of urgency.  The tension is palpable and reaches its height with the groove riffs near the end.

“Ofredsår,” is already huge within seconds because of the drums and the riffs, which seem to get more and more dense as the song goes even after changing to a faster tempo and a more black metal oriented style.  Around the 2:54 mark, the guitars turn supremely deadly and focused on destruction just before moving on two atmospheric touches, complimented by the deep bass drum. 

That’s really the key to the album’s success: how well the instruments are in tune with one another and help each other out with the flow of the songs.  They all bring their own individual flavors but still manage to move as one for a very smooth experience, despite the abrasive nature of the music.

“Atropos Hymnarium,” and it’s blood curdling riffs got my heart pumping immediately and the double bass nearly made it explode.  As the song opens up with a huge growl, I felt like I was put through the ringer.  The way the song moves like a snake winding through the forest floor looking for its next meal is one of the highlights of the album.  The halfway point of the song is basically the audio equivalent of a meat grinder. This is one of those songs that just doesn’t let up, moving from point to point only to stop for a second to batter you before moving on.

“Gravjordsfrid,” ends the album and has become one of my favorites.  It has an odd sense of melody about it….it is very subtle, seeping into the cracks to fill up the liminal spaces.  The lead guitar adds a lot of dismal melodies throughout to cover the song with a depressive, melancholic mood that is very gripping.

Vanhelgd’s “Atropos Doctrina” is n album that is loaded with atmosphere without losing one iota of intensity and seething, painful rage.  It’s blend of styles will make it appealing to any fan of extreme metal and might even win over a few who normally don’t venture into death or black metal territory.