Adveniat Hiems
Loki

Ok, I like metal music.
Ok, I like black metal, one of the most extreme wings of the genre, the one with distorted guitars, pounding drums, and a voice that screams or growls.
Spare me the comments like "that's not music, it's noise"... if you don't like black, read one of the other 287987385787 reviews on DeBaser!
For those who appreciate this kind of "noise," here I present quite a nice product.

First of all, let's say that the band that composed this "Loki" is made up of three stable members plus a session singer who lent his talents to record the album's vocals. The band was born at the end of 2008 from the ashes of another group, "LustNotes," where the three musicians had played for several years. As the band inform us in various interviews available on the web, this previous collaboration ensured that "Adveniat Hiems" needed little rehearsal and quickly launched into the creation of the group's first album.
Let's move on to analyzing this album!

The first thing that stands out is that it contains only 4 complete tracks plus an intro. At first glance, it might seem like a demo because it only lasts about twenty minutes, but if you have a moment of patience and read the product presentation, you'll discover it's actually an E.P., intentionally limited in duration. The style the band has chosen to adopt is indeed this: small productions that do not exceed thirty minutes of sound, each centered on a single theme with which every detail must align: graphics, lyrics, atmospheres, and so on.

Once the doubt about the album's length is overcome, I delve into the actual songs. The work opens with a beautiful instrumental intro, classic in its dark progression, providing a canonical start to the album and preparing us for the first complete song, "Loki."
"Loki", the title track of the album, is a nice piece, characterized by a pleasant alternation between a classic scream and more melodic parts sung in a clean voice. The track is structured in three mirror parts: black metal start, narrative/melodic interlude, black closure. Not bad, five minutes of listening that make you want to hear more.
So we move on to the second track "Midgardsorm". This is a linear track, made up of riffs that repeat with variations never too advanced or complicated, but always in harmony with the album's atmosphere, which by now is starting to be well outlined and characteristic of our work.
The third track "Fenrir" is perhaps the best of this E.P. It is dedicated to the wolf that will devour the sun on the Day of Judgment according to Norse mythology, and it is immediately clear that the character must have been a great source of inspiration for the composers of the track. The passages are well crafted, energetic, and engaging, yet they do not break the spell of the cold and dark sound that the entire product masterfully builds. The brief clean voice inserts and the narration, deep and funereal, are excellent. The rhythmic passages and riffs are also notable, providing the right drive to the song.
The closure of the album is entrusted to "Hel". The track begins with a splendid and inspired arpeggio, serving as both the start and closure of the piece, which has really stuck in my head. The body of the song is built entirely with variations on the basic theme, simple yet effective, which perhaps thanks to the short duration of the song does not tire.

To conclude the analysis of "Loki", it must be said - credit where credit's due - that alongside this musical coherence, there is also an enviable form and appearance coherence. Perhaps a bit predictable, the cover is black with a small central image and white writing, but why not pay some homage to the fundamental current in which the E.P. is embedded? The lyrics of the album are well made, for once for an Italian band they are written in correct English and are all perfectly in line with the style and theme of the CD. Particularly striking are the lyrics of "Hel", from which I wish to quote the passage that struck me the most:

"And they say there'll be no place to go she will not reach
Because she's thief, famine and pest
The murder awaiting in the darkest passage of my land"

In conclusion, this E.P. is an excellent black metal product, entirely focused, instead of on violence or blasphemy too typical of the genre, on its ambient wing, aimed at creating atmosphere, suggestion, and stimulating the imagination. Evocative rather than transgressive, damp, dark, and gloomy rather than cursed and infernal.
For those without blinders and appreciate well-crafted sounds close to the early '90s black, this "Loki" is an album not to be missed!