Sworn – A Journey Told Through Fire [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

Hailing from Bergen, Norway, Sworn have been toiling away in relative anonymity since 2005. Two early, and frankly unremarkable, records were followed by a nine-year gap before the release of 2018’s very good, Dark Stars and Eternity. Melodic black metal with a ton of atmosphere, and sounding more Finnish than Norwegian for much of its run, the album was only really hampered by a slightly questionable mix. There is no question, however, that it represented a real step up in quality for the quartet when compared to their first two outings. Scroll forward to July this year and, still unsigned, Sworn dropped their fourth LP, A Journey Told through Fire.

It’s best to simply ignore the (predictably) cringe-inducing, but thankfully brief, spoken word passage that opens the record on what is otherwise one of the album’s best cuts, the epic “A Godless Domain.” Drummer Tom Ian Klungland sets a furious, propulsive tempo for much of the album, driving it forward in a relentless fashion that reminded me of Vorga. The melodic tremolos from guitarists Goran Hope and Christoffer Kjørsvik recall Necrophobic and Mistur as they swirl and soar but it’s the synths and strings that are introduced as quiet introspective passages, that really elevate what Sworn do. Handled by Kjørsvik, who also plays bass and seems to be the principal songwriter, the synths lend an almost symphonic note in places (back third of “A Godless Domain” and the middle sections of “Grand Eclipse”), giving A Journey Told through Fire a sense of grandeur that I associate more with doom than melodic black metal.

A Journey told through Fire by Sworn

Meanwhile, other parts of the album, like the middle sections of the desperately mournful “Calamity Sea,” see some noodling that has a distinctly power metal feel, before an Insomnium-esque lead drops. Indeed, the Insomnium vibes are strong on “Monumental” also, as some of the earlier pace of A Journey Told through Fire is stripped out, allowing Sworn to indulge themselves a little. In other places, Cult of a Dying Sun-era Uada notes bleed into the guitars, as well as the pacing, particularly on “Visions of Fire” and the title track. Throughout, Max Wilson’s throat-shredding rasps offer up a harsher side to the record, which otherwise has an air of sweet melancholia to much of it. Clocking in at just under 50 minutes, the album is tightly written and beautifully paced, shifting up and down through the gears at will. Pummelling in places, dropping down into somber quasi-doom-death mode in others (back third of the title track), Sworn show themselves to have a deft touch for switching things up at just the right moment.

The guitars have a great sorrowful tone to them, while the issues with the mix on Dark Stars and Eternity, which saw the drums swallowing the guitars, have been fixed. By contrast, A Journey Told through Fire feels rich and, for all its pensive notes, vibrant, while its sound envelops you, making for a surprisingly easy listen. The trajectory from Dark Stars … to A Journey Told through Fire is extremely promising, suggesting the band has found its songwriting groove. Easily the best material of Sworn’s almost 20-year career, I hope this is the record that may finally see them start to get some recognition. I also hope we don’t have to wait another five-plus years for the next entry.

Tracks to Check Out: ”A Godless Domain,” “Monumental” and “A Journey Told through Fire.”



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