Sorry to say I’m late to the party on this one, which came out earlier this month, but better late than never, eh? Especially when UK black metal veterans Old Forest, now a quarter century into their career with power to add, have delivered such a sparkling slab o’noise…

Quirky old bastards that they are, the duo Kobold (drums, vocals and keys) and Beleth (stringed instruments) continue to mix things up with nary a thought for modern tropes of mores. The avowed attention here is to pay homage to the old Gods of nineties black metal, and, with the occasional strident battle metal feels and whooshing, horror-laden keys on tracks like Decrepit Melancholy, you certainly get the idea that the band is trying to convey. But even here, some out-there vocals might have you thinking of Hawkwind’s Dave Brock; Graveside is that sort of album.

Elsewhere, the pretty musical interlude Interment of Ashes keeps making me think of Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, whilst the opening rager Curse of Wampyr adds a soupcon of NWoBHM fury to the mix (seriously, I hear, buried deep in the mix, strong connections to Blitz vocalist Brian Ross. Or, maybe, I’m just overthinking this a bit).

But wherever the influences come from, there’s no denying that Graveside is an album that will grace any black metal collection. Old Forest know exactly what they want to achieve, and they know how to achieve it. Consequently there are no weak points here, and, whilst they probably won’t gain too many new fans with this, the old ones are going to love the hell out if it. Superb.

Graveside is out now.