Kvist
For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike

In the early '90s, when black metal was still largely Norwegian and major labels hadn’t yet dreamed of signing such bands, the genre had not yet been divided into millions of sub-genres, a sign of the journalists' perpetual delay as they seek to fill the void with some memorable label, with some posthumous resurrection, etc.

In the early '90s, a legendary trio played in Norway, Kvist, one of those perfect bands from the first to the last note, including arrangements, technique, and personality.

Kvist paid for the lack of excesses on one side and the undefined image on the other with the audience's indifference: in this, the band joined other sacred monsters of the genre, brilliant comets lasting a couple of seasons and dissolving almost amid general indifference, like In The Woods and Troll, but also others never entirely appreciated, like Limbonic Art. Defining the band’s style remains challenging, even more so today, as mentioned, due to the fragmentation of trends; Kvist played Black Metal with obviously Norwegian origins, melodic riffing, with a decisively symphonic bent, enhanced by a decidedly evil and recognizable vocal performance.

"For Kunsten Maa Evig Vike" is one of those perfect albums, of which there are few: if its musicians had also been involved in crimes related to the Inner Circle, or if they were simply cannibals, the album would have become a symbol of the era; but that was not the case, and the album remains the only chapter in the band’s discography, reaching remarkable artistic levels without the help of a long apprenticeship or an endless series of demos, as happens today.

The greatness of the album lies in its ability to wisely mix different atmospheres without any one overshadowing the others, never becoming garish, never falling into the "True-at-all-costs" pitfall of too many Norwegian bands. The songs exude the scent of an abandoned chapel, left to the dominance of vegetation, among thorns and brambles; the inscriptions on the surface evoke something distant and intangible but evocative and mysterious, gaining a unique magical aura; tufts of grass sprout between tombstones, and a thin veil of fog takes over the cemetery. The cover itself suggests the imagery connected to the album and ultimately provides the key to interpreting it: like other albums (such as Mayhem's "De Mysteriis dom Sathanas"), there’s no concept, story, or imagery that serves as the interpretive key for the work. We are simply faced with a series of stunning tracks, each with its own story, emotions it evokes, and impressions it conveys, all things difficult to describe in words: it’s no mystery then that such an album eluded, in its almost greatest hits-like simplicity, the radar of the market and popularity.

Kvist remotely recall some Norwegian bands, but the comparisons always elude, and the band does not lend itself easily to categorization: in various moments one can sense the epic-symphonic tone that, for instance, characterized "Inno a Satana" by Emperor, in others that taste for the constructions and interplays of Satyricon, particularly those of "Nemesis Divina," more melodic and romantic: but the former are excessively "cacophonous" and the latter far too pleased with their talent to genuinely have something to do with Kvist: indeed, they deftly transition from more intense moments ("Forbannet Vaere Jorden Jeg Ger Pe") to more symphonic ones: it is essential to note how the symphonic aspect never degenerates into the orchestral, nor the gothic into the theatrical, which happens when talent is lacking and one tries to compensate with often misplaced scenic devices.

The album’s highest moment remains, one of the peaks of black metal, already a paradigm from the title: "Ars Manifestia." A piece that condenses the band’s style into five minutes of impressive beauty, among death/thrash breaks and symphonic evolutions the band manages to set in an impressive series of different riffs, never venturing into Progressive Black but remaining firmly in more classic territories.

To be rediscovered.