The second release from Skorbvstr, Hedensk, is perfectly in line with the high standard set by the one man project's debut, Sakte Fort Veldig Kraftig, released just nine months back. To my ears, Hedensk is somehow angrier and carries a heavier dosage of vitriol than it's prototype. While there was a heavy sense of discomfort and bleakness to last year's debut, Hedensk is simply one step further emotionally. It truly continues the progression of this project as well. If the singular aim of ...Kraftig was to channel the demons which overwhelmed us all during the early and mid-Covid era - the feelings of confinement, loneliness, and frustration - then Hedensk could be said to be the natural progression into the now lingering emotional and political repercussions of anger, confusion, and distrust. It just so happens that these tracks were recorded at practically the same time as the national political fiasco associated with President Trump's final days in office. I make no claims as to the politics of Skorbvstr's mastermind. None need to be made; this year's election was a powder-keg both figuratively and literally. Frustration was felt through the whole body politic. This has seeped into the art of that moment as well.
Musically, Skorbvstr has retained all the singular elements which made the first demo so effective. Songs still open with the reverberating siren's call of ebbing feedback. Singularity is still the foundational principle, with songs offering melodies built off singular root notes. The overall impression is that of a lo-fi recording, but Hedensk is not lo-fi production wise; there is a clarity somewhere between the highs and lows in the mix, but the rawness and roughness of it all, the ill-defined tonality of individual elements in favor of textural highlights gives it a mystique reserved for an elite cohort who understand Black Metal on a deeper plane. This is clear from the (in)tense - as N. Birk would pen - opening salvo "Seer" which allows momentary audible snare and cymbals to cut through the pitchy atonality. The metallic ringing guitar which punctuates and supplies a lot of the hooks is an arrow through the heart of the mix in the best ways possible and at the right moments.
One of the most interesting tracks is the awkward and bizarre melodic experimentation of "Arroganse Med Lite Liv." It might be the most uncomfortable harmonic combination of the year... or decade... maybe ever. A pounding harangue of monotonous auditory displeasure, an off-color spotlight on the listener exposing their shame, the abduction of security and safety that we crawl to when confronted with unwelcome troubles. It's these kinds of emotions which are often misrepresented but which Skorbvster capture with their noisy eloquence. Skorbvster has truly been something to appreciate for me as a Black Metal fan. It's not something which can be appreciated as an outsider or surface-dweller to my ears; a context of some strange sort is required to get to the bottom of the project. Imagine yourself as a child and your house has a dark basement. First, you muster the courage to go down the stairs, then to look behind the boxes and objects creeping over you. Eventually, shivering, you struggle your way to the back, farthest corner of what must surely feel like a demons cave. The noises from the furnace bellow at you like a thundering hell. And you find nothing but you understand your fear. Skorbvster requires that understanding, maybe, to appreciate.
