As already mentioned in the review I wrote for the band’s debut EP, on the 11th of September AB the Swedish mysterious entity that is Lifvsleda will release its first full length called Det Besegrade Lifvet. According to the official press release, the album will again come out via Shadow Records (marketed by Regain Records), in 3 different formats: “on noble gatefold vinyl and compact disc, as well as a strictly limited cassette, all packed and presented in a way to glorify the art in its most supreme way”.
If you expect something different than the Manifest MMXIX EP, well, you are wrong. The band continues on the same desolating path they walked on the previous material, this time drowning their music even more in the rotten earth which they emerged from.
The album contains 9 tracks, each one representing Death in various shapes. From the slow, agonizing moves of its cold scythe to the vicious aggression of its putrid voice, Death is the leitmotif of this album. This duality of this release (best heard on the beautiful Intet) is also noticeable from the album’s cover: where black and white mingle, melancholy and darkness go hand in hand.
Black metal is supposed to be dangerous, frightening and evil. On Det Besegrade Lifvet the music of Lifvsleda is even more than that. It is also violent, primitive and reaches several levels of unsettling darkness combined with the melancholy of the Swedish soil. The compositions are short, intense and full of hatred, grabbing you by the throat from start to finish. The vocals are haunting and disturbing and they play a huge role on this album. Every spoken word, every agonizing scream are but another nail in the final coffin that Lifvsleda has prepared for you.
What this band has created with this debut album is not an homage to the nostalgia of the origins of a genre, but rather an update of some times long gone. These Swedes have their roots deep in those times when danger and misanthropy were part of black metal and you can sense that from the very first chords of I Fjärran Jord Begrafvd. But on Det Besegrade Lifvet the band has not been trying to emulate the glorious 90s, instead they brought them to the 21st century. And this is something that only a few bands have managed to do.
In its music Lifvsleda doesn’t use any gimmicks and there are no fillers on this album. Everything has been done with a purpose and the final result are these 9 mesmerizing tracks. Det Besegrade Lifvet is an album that is best experienced in utter solitude, just like the way it was recorded. Let it grow on you and it will reward you with one of the best musical experiences black metal ever had.
Lifvsleda Det Besegrade Lifvet track list:
1. I Fjärran Jord Begrafvd
2. Det Besegrade Lifvet
3. Intet
4. Afvgrundsande
5. Bortgång
6. Fjättrad
7. Nedstigning
8. Vederkvickelse
9. Landet Bortom Skogen
Band contact:
https://www.facebook.com/lifvsleda/
https://www.instagram.com/lifvsleda
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