Lifelover
Pulver

Still with Lifelover? Yes, indeed!

This band never tires me, and I assure you, I always manage to find some new detail every time I listen to one of their albums. The review was missing for what, in my humble opinion, is their second masterpiece. I mean to say that the creative peak of the band was reached with "Konkurs," while just a step below lies "Pulver."

Lyrics in Swedish with some English interludes. It's hard to understand the themes explored by Lifelover, but undoubtedly, they are light-years away from the genre's standards. Musically, as already mentioned elsewhere, we move between echoes of Black Metal and experimentation.

By experimentation, I specifically refer to Dark-Wave, semi-Doom sounds, and in certain cases, even punkish shards.

A work that hurts. Extreme but in its own way. Morbid but without falling into the tacky satanic or splatter. Certainly, the cover might suggest to the unsuspecting listener that it is a grind or gore-metal work.

But instead, nothing of the sort. Music that is anguished, shrill, and jarring. Music that sometimes travels at high speeds, while in many other cases drags slowly.

I'll just mention the names of three tracks: "M/S Salmonella," "Vardagsnytt," and the schizo finale of "En Sang Om Ding." There's much more, but I'll leave the honor of discovering it to you.

Rest in peace, dear Lifelover.