Passionate. Perhaps not a descriptor often harmessed to the yolk of black metal; But, nevertheless ,- one which is apt for deployment with regard to the edifice of Koldbrann. For there can be no doubt that it is passion which courses through the veins, both of creator and consumer, when confronted with compositions of the might of I Unaturens Vold.

In the ebon halls of black metal Valhalla, reverence for what has gone before is paramount, a position in time and space forever safe for the forefathers. Yet this immovability comes at a price, for those doomed to follow as accolytes are often constricted by that reverence, and often immobilised with the fear of being seen to disrepect the Gods, not by mocking them but by failing to emulate them enough.

Not so these artists gathered together under the banner of Koldbrann; each, a virtuoso, all, in strength of character, the equals of times past. Thus is the confidence to create freely birthed; thus, material as glorious as Prosesjon Under Blyhimmel is made flesh. Koldbrann stand judged not on the performances of the past – by them or by anybody else – but on their presence in the here and now, where they continue to triumph over any and all who might challenge them.

So whilst Koldbrann might conform to visual tropes associated with the medium, in all other ways it’s is their rugged individuality that sets them apart and above. This is music that is acutely aware of the destiny that it carves for itself; Music for which immortality holds no fear. It is, in many ways, Norwegian black metal at it’s very apogee, the modern essence of a set of ideals long observed but seldom satisfied fully. In the glorious dissonance of Maskiner Av Nihil the legend is not reborn so much as reconsecrated, the passion set aflame anew for new ears and blackened hearts.

Ingen Skånsel releases on August 23rd.