H7 is the second album from Norwegian black metallers Blodhemn and it’s a good listen that plays on the band’s strengths.
Whilst it perhaps should be said that you won’t quite find any surprises on here, as it’s just your fairly standard black metal album, it does feature some absolutely cracking songs on its seven-track duration. Indeed, Evig Heder is a particularly strong offering; with powerful drums and a furiously frenetic guitar line, it’s a track brimming with energy and really hammers home the fact that Blodhemn is a band that can write black metal very well, and with other strong inclusions such as opener Flammenes Virke and slower number Andenes Ansikt, it really crafts H7 into an album that you’ll remember.
The only problem with the album is just that Blodhemn don’t broach any new territory. It really is a great album but it’s also a very safe album. It’s almost like Blodhemn are a little nervous about trying something different and have stayed firmly within their black metal confines rather than putting their own unique stamp on their music, which is a bit of a shame because it does feel like H7 is capable of being so much more.
However, H7 is indeed a mighty album and for those who loved their previous album Holmengraa, this will go down an absolute treat.
7/10
