Bekmørk – Incantations of the Frigid North – Album Review

In the undying spirit of Norwegian black metal rises a mysterious new band called Bekmørk, delivering odes to the darkness and cold of the frozen north in a manner which pays homage to the lo-fi clatter of black metal.

Sadly, Bekmørk (Norwegian for pitch black) are rudimentary at best, utter shite at worst. Their riffs are laughable as they flip-flop from typical, nondescript tremolo picking to second rate NWOBHM knock off’s while the vocals, oh god the vocals, mix a grouchy, gravelly rasp of zero power with a load of bellowed bollocks which are as ill-fitting as the completely random bell-tolling which litters the abomination that is “The Bells of Klippe Hule (Summon Forth the Mighty Wakon)”.

At least the decently named “Of Hoof, And Horn, And Blood” riffs up a minor storm before confusingly going all avant-garde on our asses. Thankfully, it’s also under 3 mins long, which can only be seen as an ironic blessing.

A nihilistic celebration of darkness this may be, but Incantations of the Frigid North fails on almost every level. Conjuring nothhing more than abject pain and misery – which was probably its intention in the first place – this relentless rehash of past glories is an absolute earache of an album. And not in a good way! 3/10

Why don’t you nip over to bandcamp and have a listen for yourselves! You may like it.

Bekmørk – Incantations of the Frigid North

Release date: 25-01-2018
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Horns High Records

Line-up:
Dread Count Naberius: Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Malevolent Berserker: Drums, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards