“There will always be a road of eternal struggles and famine ahead.”
Until recently, Tusenårseken (or Thousand Year Oak in English), was a name completely unknown to me. This is actually a very new one man band hailing from…Sweden, of course. The simple fact that all the articles posted lately on this page involve Swedish bands happened naturally, because in my opinion Sweden is at the moment one of the best countries in the world (if not the best one) when it comes to extreme metal.
Explanations aside, let’s get back to the review. I mentioned that Tusenårseken is a one man band, it is actually the project of Andreas Karlsson, the guy who handled everything on this debut album I will talk about below.
Earlier in August the debut album “Svält” came out in a digital form via the Swedish label Void In The Vast Empire, who will release it properly on a limited tape (50 pcs) later this fall. The pre-orders have already started on the labels Bandcamp page, so if you want go ahead and secure your copy now before it will be too late.
This debut album is a very interesting one, it gripped me from the very first listening. “Svält” has 8 tracks, which last around 45 minutes, but the music is so good that you do not realize when the album is over. Without falling into the depressive black metal category, the music on “Svält” (Starvation, in English) is melancholic enough to put you in certain moods of introspection and why not, reverie.
The topics these songs deal with are about harsh moments from the Swedish history when starvation, poverty and hard living were the events of the day. The songs are also about superstitions, old folk tales those people believed in, things that the modern world seems to have forgotten. All these elements are very well reflected by the album cover, which is actually a painting by a Scottish artist, Joseph Farquharson.
On “Svält”, Andreas Karlsson has captured the perfect essence of what misery looks like. Through savage riffs, furious blast beats and harsh screams, the miserable atmosphere he has created spreads its ugly wings shrouding you in its damp, cold embrace. Here and there we have some slow parts (or acoustic guitars) which contribute to the overall melancholy of the melodies, underlining even more the harshness of those times. Do not consider this album to be a softie though, as that would be wrong. “Svält” is a black metal album in the pure Swedish way: fast, partly melodic, aggressive, melancholic and well played.
Andreas Karlsson has created a cold, desolating and atmospheric album which can be easily compared to many albums from the end of the ’90s. Production wise, I find “Svält” quite raw, especially when it comes to the guitar riffs, but that is something I enjoy very much. I do not know if the drums are real or not (I incline to think they are programmed), but they are varied and alternate between very fast blast beats to slower parts, thus creating an interesting balance during those 45 minutes. The vocals are raw and angry and together with the occasional choruses, they express perfectly those feelings of desperation I already mentioned.
What I love about this record is that somehow, it brings something new to the table, even if it’s wrapped in the same black metal shell. Underneath this shell one can find good music (and musicianship), some folk elements, gloomy atmosphere and most important, soul. This is an album that needs to be listened as a whole, as each track is complementing the other until the end.
I am really looking forward for the tape release and I do hope that Tusenårseken‘s debut album will get the attention it deserves. For me “Svält” is indeed a hidden gem, which, once discovered, will shine bright in the dark. Listen closely and convince yourselves.
Band links:
https://vitve.bandcamp.com/album/sv-lt
https://www.facebook.com/VITVEOfficial
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