Monument by Blodsgard is a pretty interesting listen. What’s good about it is the fact that it’s black metal with a twist; these days the black metal genre is overrun with countless bands that all sound the same but Blodsgard are a little different, which subsequently means that Monument is a very refreshing listen.
There’s a little more melody and liveliness to their music, especially evident in tracks such as Mentalt Minefelt, which features a great main guitar riff and some of the most striking drumming of the album and Monument, which is probably the closest you can get to an acoustic black metal song and although it’s quite simplistic on the outside, it rings true that less is more with this particular track and it’s a very haunting piece, especially with the whispered vocals in the second half of the song.
Unfortunately, the release grinds to a bit of a halt with Livet Er Avlyst, which is a little too sparse – the track is almost silent for the first two minutes – and the energetic in-your-face section which immediately follows is almost like a punch in the face in comparison, which isn’t a great quality for a song to have. It’s a little like the song has a split personality and the band couldn’t quite decide whether to make it soft or aggressive.
However, following this is one of the best tracks Kaoskonstruksjon, which almost has a slight folky feel to it due to the introduction and instrumentation throughout and it really breaks the mould due to its individuality. The vocals on this one are particularly strong and add a lot to the song, really giving vocalist Fredrik time to shine throughout.
Monument is a great release that puts a new lease of life into black metal and as such, is a must-have for anyone who is a fan of the genre!
8/10
