Tsjuder - Legion Helvete (3.5/5)
Amidst all the developments that have occured, soundwise, to black metal since the early 90s, we don't always want it to have progressive flourishes, contemplative lyrics about nature or any other such pissing about right? Right. Sometimes, you just want a satisfying punch in the gob whilst rasping "HAILGOATFUCKINGSATAAAN" to bring you back to earth in between chin-stroking listens to the latest Solstafir, yeah? Tsjuder play the kind of straight, no-horseshit trad-Norske Black Metal that went out of fashion quite a while ago. In fact, it had gone out of fashion by the time they released their debut Desert Northern Hell back in '04, which was a savagely crafted beast it must be said. Legion Helvete follows in a similar vein, with an almost relentless barrage of Norwegian black metal that follows the template of early Mayhem, Immortal, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth and of course Bathory.
Legion Helvete is a very well crafted set of songs that runs the gamut of straight ahead blasting, occasional grooves, face melting blastbeats, and throat-grinding vocals. Think Mayhem circa Wolf Lair's Abyss without the faffing and you're getting close. A Darkthrone-esque punkiness occasionally shows up, not to mention a creeping melodicism, which overall makes Legion Helvete a very satisfying listen. This kind of black metal might sound a bit boring in 2011, but don't let its commitment to orthodoxy put you off, because Tsjuder kick the shit out of most of the pretentious post-transcendental-shoegaze black metal or whatever that's so en vogue these days just by keeping it as fucking vicious and nasty as possible. Good job.
3.5/5
