Italian black metal quintet Dewfall aren’t what they used to be. According to Metallum, their early work fell under the traditional heavy metal umbrella, placed most closely alongside Iron Maiden. To listen to them from 2018’s Hermeticus onward, you’d be hard put to find that heritage beneath a thick fog of icy tremolos, vicious rasps, and machine-gun double-bass blasting. And yet, that sophomore release is what put them on the map, and on Naturmacht’s well-regarded roster of quality bands. It also attracted my attention, sneaking its way into various playlists and rotations over the last six years. And now, their third installment Landkhaskur looms just over the horizon. What fresh hell will this bring?
Those who slept on Hermeticus missed out on an engaging if a tad bloated, black metal experience. While their core sound and style at that time rarely connected to Iron Maiden, Hermeticus’ epic feel and dramatic flair in their songwriting and melodic tendencies retains a certain kinship with those heavy metal legends of olde. Landhaskur is much the same in that regard. Brooding, ominous, and richly composed, Landhaskur pushes the Death-tinged melodic black metal formula presented on Hermeticus (just check out the incredible “Moondagger”) further into the icy void. More specifically, Landhaskur is a colder, more ritualistic affair, leaning strongly into Paara‘s occult character and blending it with Aklash‘s mystical idiosyncrasies. Dewfall stop short of wholly transforming themselves again, but this gentle evolution simmers just beneath their story-driven, riff-and-lead focused black metal surface.
Dewfall’s strongest moments have always been those where unorthodox instrumentation and musical adventurism take the spotlight, and that remains true here. “Hrings” shines with a brooding, beautiful cello introduction, falling into a dark jig laden with smooth baritone choirs, storming gang shouts on top of tumbling drums, and layered acoustic accouterments making vital contributions to the frosty tremolos and rasping screams that raze the ground beneath my feet. “Lackeskur” sees the triumphant return of the mouth harp into Dewfall’s instrumental repertoire. An addition which almost single-handedly elevates this standout track to album highlight status, that mouth harp works wonderfully inside the song’s jaunty bounce, energizing listeners for the epic, charred journey that is nine-minute closer “Laur.”1 “Maska” introduces a crucial burst of high-octane adrenaline courtesy of an addicting percussive attack, then switches it up with a sexy mid-tempo swing that entirely changes the character of the song. And yet, Dewfall’s execution across the board makes that unusual transition—among many others on this record—feel like the most natural trajectory. Therein lies the magic of Dewfall’s method.
Magical though many of Landhaskur’s moments undoubtedly are, I often look back to Hermeticus with a fondness that I can’t seem to find this time around. Both records share similar characteristics: both are remarkably back-loaded, both feature dynamic and consistently engaging songwriting twists and instrumental embellishments, and both showcase the band’s knack for buttery-smooth, but novel transitions. However, Landhaskur lacks a showstopper, whereas Hermeticus offered the aforementioned “Moondagger.” Experiencing Dewfall records as theatrical pieces—dependent on dynamic musical topography to carry me across different stages of their stories and, hopefully, offer some sort of catharsis along the way—I feel that Landhaskur is missing its climax. Standout chapters like “Maska” and “Lackeskur” come so close to providing that high, but ultimately fail to deliver the knockout blow. In the end, this represents Landhaskur’s only critical blunder, but it comes at the cost of greatness.
Nonetheless, Landhaskur is a fine record worthy of installment in any black metal fan’s rotation. It tells its story well, and repeated spins reveal new and intriguing details listeners are likely to miss the first or second time around. Aside from a few missed opportunities to punch above its weight class and deliver a world-class number at the record’s peak, there’s very little here that saps my enjoyment. It’s safe to say, then, that I’m content with Landhaskur, and I look forward to seeing what Dewfall do next.
Rating: Good
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Naturmacht Productions
Websites: dewfallofficial.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/pages/dewfall/152487144778710
Releases Worldwide: November 29th, 2024
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