Urgehal - Ikonoklast

URGEHAL - Ikonoklast (FUNERAL INDUSTRIES - LP 2015)

It's been a while since I've listened to anything from Urgehal, but today's sickening Easter aura made me hungry to listen to "Ikonoklast"! Sounds like a good soundtrack for christ's death! I think we can say that it's very special album, because it was the last record, which was released when Trondr Nefas lived. Next album, "Aeons in Sodom", was finished and unleashed a year or two after his sudden death. It's also one of the highlights in Urgehal discography, in my opinion and along "Goatcraft Torment" and "Through Thick Fog till Death" my favourite album. "Ikonoklast" is just killer black metal record in the classic Norwegian style.  

I think that Urgehal managed to create their own style and sound within this grim and simplistic Norwegian black metal. Sure, they have influences from the likes of Darkthrone, Gorgoroth or Carpathian Forest, but the music sounds individual enough to be recognizable. I love these riffs, which Nefas and Enzifer came up with. They create this cold, hateful feeling so easily, like it's natural to them. Especially all these slower songs like "Sopor Necrosanctus" and "Cut Their Tongue, Shut Their Prayer" are my favourites, with their quite catchy, vicious riffs. There's great infectious feeling in these songs, which I like a lot. Urgehal music is full of great ideas, arrangements, which put them above many similar bands. Even that melodic guitar lead in "Cut Their Tongue..." is uncommon thing to hear from such rough and simplistic black metal bands. Besides, the music may not be technical, but it's not primitive neither! It is tight and very good rhythmically, perfectly performed and without all these mistakes and intentional fuck ups to sound more "cult". On "Ikonoklast" everything is top notch, from the production and performance of the band members, to Trondr's killer vocals delivery. The drummer is fantastic! 

"Ikonoklast" is yet another Urgehal album, which is quite long. This time we get nearly 60 minutes of music, which you have to admit is quite a lot. But the album has been split over two vinyl, so maybe this is why it doesn't really bring me any monotonous or tired feelings. This album won't surprise you with anything new. But it's great quality classic Darkthrone-ish black metal. List of killer songs is long, with the likes of "Cut Their Tongue, Shut Their Prayer", "Sopor Necrosanctus" and "Holocaust in Utopia". "Sopor Necrosanctus" especially belongs to the best things this band has ever recorded, even that piano in the end of this song sounds fantastic. And the venomous, so beautifully blasting "Stesolid Self-Destruction to Damnation" is another real black jewel from this record. Yeah, definitely this is a must have album for your black metal collection. 

Standout tracks: "Cut Their Tongue, Shut Their Prayer", "Holocaust in Utopia", "Astral Projection to Rabid Hell", "Sopor Necrosanctus", "Stesolid Self-Destruction to Damnation" 

Verdict: 80 / 100