It has become quite a norm these days, for fans or bands, both old and new, to be nostalgic and look back to the once glorious past. That may be the case with the metal “fashion” as well as with the music, where the term old school (heavy metal, thrash, death, black etc.) has become almost redundant. But why is that happening ? Are we missing the good old days of the 80s or 90s that much, is the music released these days so terrible that we always need to go back in time ? Or maybe it’s just another trend ? Who knows…
I for example can relate very much to this, as most of today’s music is not giving me any kind of thrills anymore. There are way too many bands out there, each trying to be something they are not, more evil, more satanic, more this or more that, social media has vulgarized everything and the true essence (of black purity) has almost disappeared. I said “almost” because there are still many bands out there, some old, some new, who fight really hard to keep the black flame burning by swimming against the current. But let’s not stray from the purpose of this review and get back to the point.
One of these bands that channel the nostalgic feeling I was talking about is Skarntyde, from Germany. Exactly 2 years ago they released the demo tape “Spurvehauk” but I haven’t heard about them until recently, when I got an email from one of the members who introduced me to their newest release, the debut full length “Flukt fra menneskeligheten” (Escape from Humaneness). The album came out on December 3rd, in a limited run of 500 digipack copies, on the German label Human Noise Records.
From the very beginning of the album’s description it was mentioned that ” the duo from Upper Bavaria follows paths that have had a significant influence on the genre since the mid-90s.” That was enough to raise my curiosity level so I gave the album several spins in order to better understand where those paths were leading to.
There are 8 full tracks and a short instrumental on this record, with a duration of 47 minutes, but believe me that you won’t even notice when the album ends. On one hand, Skarntyde‘s music is indeed a tribute to some of the best bands Norway came up with in the early 90s, when black metal was at its peak. Early Borknagar, early Ulver, Forgotten Woods, Bak De Syv Fjell or Satyricon may come to mind when listening to “Flukt…”, but on the other hand, this album is also quite original and its 2 members have struggled really hard to give it a personal touch as well.
The band’s essence is deeply rooted in the black metal soil, with traditional ice cold riffs, thundering blast beats or harsh, evil sounding vocals, but we also have a nice share of clean vocals, some fantastic piano arrangements, classical guitars or bombastic keyboards that give the album a powerful feeling of melancholy and nostalgia. The fact the band chose to use Norwegian, from the band name (which means poison hemlock) to the song titles and the lyrics, gives it an even stronger sense of belonging to those glorious days.
But unlike most of the traditional black metal bands of that era, this album does not deal lyrically with devil worshipping, Satanism or any other occult topics. According to the band’s description, “Flukt…” is somehow a concept album, telling the story of a man who turns his back on civilization and whose final wish, to witness the end of humankind, grows strongly in him, to the point of obsession.
For me “Flukt fra menneskeligheten” is a bold tribute to the musical past of the 90s, an introspective journey into the deep self and a well crafted compendium of feelings, which strongly impact you during the listening session. Aggression and melancholy intertwine brilliantly in a wicked waltz of the elements, which transpose you in a whole new dimension. The chilling music is very visual as well, and with the help of the beautiful black and white artwork that adorns the album cover your imagination will immediately start to wander astray, on wild and dangerous paths. During those 47 minutes, you feel like really taking the place of the main character, you feel more connected to nature than ever before and only wish for solitude and tranquility, far from the ugly, civilized world. The strong feeling of unpredictability which emanates from this album only makes the listening experience even more fascinating and intriguing.
I have been under the spell of this record since the first listen and the more I played it, the more I discovered details that were hidden before. “Flukt fra menneskeligheten” is a grandiose piece of art, a beautiful debut album that really deserves your attention. I see it as the perfect companion for the short and cold winter days, when nature closes in on itself and returns to its primordial stillness.
Skarntyde – “Flukt fra menneskeligheten” Tracklist:
1. Ting som jeg er så lei av
2. Flukt til kulden
3. Et øyeblikk av indre ro
4. Tilbake i skogen
5. Fjellene ligger foran meg
6. Gjennom regn og grå skyer
7. Over tåkehavets stille bølger
8. Klare tanker i iskaldt vann
9. Drøm av menneskehetens ende
Band Line Up:
Fjelleiner : electric guitars (2, 4, 5, 8), drums, vocals and lyrics
Gerileme : electric guitars (1, 5, 6, 9), acoustic guitars, bass and keyboards
Band contact:
scrollsofdarmoth.com 
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