Label: Nordvis
Band: Murg
Origin: Sweden

I’ve written about the previous Murg record on this page before, though not so dense when I look at it now. You can check that out here. The band from Bergslagen brings back a lot of classic black metal elements on their albums. The black and white, but also a blistering, northern sound. Don’t worry, they are not trapped in time in some sort of way.

Within a year from their debut ‘Varg & Björn’, the band is back with ‘Gudatall’. This album continues the quest of these unknown Swedes to bring back some tradition to the disparate black metal world. In an interview with 3rd Eye Mag, they explain their influences with classical names such as Dissection and Gorgoroth (but with addition of Tulus and Mgla). That should tell you plenty about what to expect from this record.

What is noticable instantly is that the band has found a bit more of an atmosphere in their sound. This creates a richer and fuller sound on this album, compared to the rather straight forward predecessor. A sound that has that full flavor of the bands they mention as their inspiration, not the thin ferocity of the original bands in the 2nd wave of black metal. A wall of dissonant, bleak guitar work with that sense of the great epic Dissection to it. It’s much less raw though, more controlled cascades of riff work rolling through the noisy fog of distortion. The vocals are harsh barks, with a commanding, rustic feel to them, which you hear in the more rural black metal bands like Windir.

In general, the sound of Murg has also put up some of that wavery, atmospheric sound here and there. A thin element of Winterfylleth -like nature worship perhaps, since that seems to be the stronger theme in their music. Still, there’s that Nidrosian black metal element, orthodox, harsh and mysterious, that makes Murg such a compelling act. They’re not too likely to join the more progressive stream of the genre. The frosty crips of the vocals, the grey haze of the rhythm section and that tremolo guitarplay are way to stuck in the frozen north. The blistering hail on ‘Mästarens resa i mörkret’, with the fierce vocals or the jagged, frantic ‘Midnattsmässan’ are a testament to that.

Murg is a fresh breeze in the black metal scene in the sense that they feel comfortable, as that old pair of shoes. But also great, because you can finally wear them again. This is obviously a great album.