Adding nothing new to the genre whatsoever, Swedish Valkyrja have delivered something that can be best described as a solid punishment of the auditory canals.
Although moving in the more commercial (i.e. the album is produced and mixed) end of the black metal spectrum, it is still dirty and grim sounds that pour from the speakers – except the very pleasant acoustic pieces in Plague Death and Sinister Obsession.
Valkyrja favour long sections of double bass drumming, something that hardly adds variation to the overall experience. A track like The Vigil, on the other hand, with its half-tempo grind and heaviness in my view turns out to show one of the band’s strengths.
A decent enough release. but by no means a milestone. Immortal have not lived in vain, that’s my conclusion.
