Ekrom - Uten Nadigst Formildelse - CD

A new formation hailing from darkest, coldest Norway, EKROM sound exceptionally ancient, brimming with a fire that stoked (and literally burned) the country during the early '90s. Perhaps not surprisingly, the band is the work of two old souls: drummer Thomas Ødegaard (AKA Tex Terror, longtime drummer/vocalist of Nocturnal Breed) and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Kharon, a member of Norway's Covenant, during that band's earliest (and best) days. EKROM made their public debut in November 2022 with the EP The Black Flames of Seth - initially digital-only, but then finding super-limited tape release in March of this year. At nearly 15 minutes, the EP swiftly made its point: the past was alive, and from the cinders stirred another new fire...

Now it's reached a conflagration with EKROM's full-length debut, Uten Nådigst Formildelse. Wasting no time with an intro, the album kicks in - HARD - with a spiraling & suffocating spire of absolutely classic Nordic ice. Shards of stained-glass synth soon enter the picture and make EKROM's cryogenics even more haunting and expansive, with the production itself - crisp, clear, and somehow dense simultaneously, most importantly emitting an air of mystery and mysticism such as it was during the darkest 1990s - almost working as another instrument. That the duo have these sounds dialed in is one (exceptional) thing; that they wield those sonics in service of imaginative, immersive songwriting is another. Indeed, Uten Nådigst Formildelse is a transportive experience, much like those ancient Norwegian tomes here, severing the listener from reality and opening the portals to the beyond and dream-worlds yet contemplated: life-giving and -damning in equal measure, a manifestation of eldritch energies most potent. Or, fancy words aside, EKROM's debut album is a fucking great BLACK METAL record rendered with time-honored elements.

While there's currently no shortage of bands/records offering classic/"classic" '90s-style black metal, it's invigorating - and, above all, authentic - to find it coming from those who were there from the beginning. EKROM have both arived and awoken with Uten Nådigst Formildelse.

TRACKLIST
01 – My Way
02 – The Black Flame of Seth
03 – The Black Hearted Ragana
04 – Abyss of Eternity
05 – Misanthropy Void
06 – I Djevelens Skygge
07 – My End
08 – When I Enter the World of Unknown