genres: thall + progressive metal + experimental
It’s here! Only ten years after their debut, Swedish progressive/experimental band Vildhjarta are finally back with their sophomore release. The band has functionally created their own genre of “thall”, a subgenre of technical metal or “djent” that marries clean melodies with interspersed downtuned chuggs and a dissonant atmosphere. Nothing sounded like it in 2011 when their debut released, but several bands (almost always Scandinavian) have since borrowed the technique for everything from classic prog metal to deathcore. This doesn’t slow the group in the slightest. Instead we get a release that is both more melodic and heavier than anything that could’ve been expected. Among the trickle of tracks we’ve gotten over the past year, none exceeded “den helige anden”, which we get a new version of here. It is still the single most compelling track on the album, but “brännmärkt” challenges it on a technical level, and many tracks contain equally compelling melodies. This is not an album for a metal novice, but for those looking for something unique, the mystery and beauty of this release are hard to match in the extreme metal scene.
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