Arckanum - Beswærilsin

Arckanum is a one-man Swedish black metal band that formed in 1992 by musician and author Shamaatae.  His latest album, “Beswærilsin,” is the project’s 10th full-length album, in addition to also having released numerous EPs, demos, splits and compilations.

Some albums take a minute to latch on; others are noticeable from the get-go that they have potential.  Still, every now and then, an album is immediately enjoyable—-soon as I press play, I know for a fact the album will be worth my time.  Arckanum’s “Beswærilsin,” is one of these albums.  The atmosphere, and I can’t really explain this per say, matches the cover art and it pulled me in from the opening spoken word and tribal-like beats of the opening song, “Mz Fianda Raþi.”

The production and mix make the album even better.  It’s foggy and mysterious, ancient and arcane, without sounding dated or muted.  The vocals are great and pierce through the veil to lead these 11 compositions deeper into the heart of darkness.  The instrumentation isn’t flash or bombastic. It’s methodical and clear to me it was composed with great care and concern.  Although the songs can be fast, nothing feels rushed or hurried.  The overall tempo can vary greatly, and the songs don’t focus on any one speed or type as they ebb and flow through songwriting that feels very natural.  

The album is just melodic enough without being under the banner of ‘melodic black metal.’  The album simply does what it needs to in order to say what it needs to say.  The payoff for the listener is worthy as the album flows incredibly well for its length, which stretches over an hour. I like how quickly the songs can go from urgent, to subdued to outright aggression while still keeping the atmosphere and song structures cohesive.  

Going back to the aforementioned first song, it builds up steadily with the riffs working on the rising action–the synergy between the guitars and drums is perfect.  The song runs the blackened gauntlet until around the 3:30 mark.  From here the double bass keeps the aggression while the ancient atmosphere returns, in no small part to the bass.  

The album is at its best when it sounds both monolithic and melodic at the same time. “Wilianz Kniwer” exemplifies this well with the riffs reaching for the skies while the lead guitar fills in the gaps with simple but effective notes.  The last minute and half or so is my favorite passage of the song–slow, dirge, melodic yet but raw in its nature.  

“Eldstenz Frø,” is one of my favorite songs on the album, if not my favorite.  I like this one because it shows two sides of the band.  The first two minutes or so of the song is fast, blackened fury that hits all the sweet spots for violent black metal.  But afterwards, the song pulls back on the tempo and gets atmospheric but with an intense, dense sound that makes it work in context of the song as a whole yet feels just different enough to make it interesting. 

“Wiþirskapit,” is an instrumental that feels apocalyptic and destitute.  It’s both dangerous and exciting—the drums are engrossing and go a long way in helping the atmosphere stand out as much as it does.  This one uses liminal spaces very well and the solos are killer.  One of the better instrumentals I’ve heard this year for sure. 

The final song, “Twæþursaspa,” feels more like an interlude to me than a final song—there isn’t anything wrong with it but it is minimalistic and sparse in terms of instrumentation.  I feel like the song before it, “Anskoti,” is the proper final song as it’s short, sweet, to the point and a total banger.  Regardless of this very personal and minor quibble, both the songs do pair well together. 

 Arckanum’s “Beswærilsin,” is an interesting and unique black metal in its approach to balancing melody, atmosphere and black metal’s natural rawness into a dynamic, adventurous album.

Rating: Great