Myr is a duo hailing from Norway, so obviously you shouldn’t ask what kind of music we might encounter on this debut album Helvegen. Presumably, it is a mixture of icy cold sounds from the High North mixed with melodic black metal elements topped with some more traditional characters. Something you could distil from the reference to bands that proved influential for these two: Bathory, Dissection and Satyricon in particular. It also becomes immediately clear that these two gentlemen mean serious business and that with this band they want to convey the dark and mystique from their native region, and that is more than their right.
That harsh and raw nature, which is very characteristic up there in Scandinavia, must of course be contained in a productional way. To this end, both band members, seasoned in black metal, enlisted the help of none other than Tore Stjerna for mixing and mastering at his Necromorbus Studio in Sweden.
Alright, let’s cut to the chase! The production really does give this Myr’s rather traditional-feeling, raw yet also rancid, black metal a boost. December Coma, for instance, and its piano part are definitely something else. Both gentlemen continue down the same road and razor-sharp guitar parts make In Perpetum an absolute banger. I do wonder who Mister Nice Guy behind the drums is and whose fragile children’s voice (?) we are hearing on the second song. It feels a bit like Red Riding Hood passes by.
In the raucous Brennt, we hear the gents spit and roar. Røkkr breathes quite a bit of Dissection, but so much more is going on. I am hearing swirling acoustic parts, strings and a saxophone solo! A song like Saturnine Child is so toxic that breathing in the fumes of the burning torches will already have you totally enthralled by this enigmatic band. Naraka immediately explodes through a high-end melodic black metal riff that then takes on an even more brutal guise with playful cymbal playing and thunderous double bass kicks.
Yep, I could write more, but only the following phrase keeps haunting my head: more of this, please! Helvegen by Norwegian black metal duo Myr bites, charges and spits like a pack of wolves letting their prey play for a while before devouring it in toto. Year list material!
Score:
89/100
Label:
Own management, 2025
Tracklisting:
- December Coma
- In Perpetum
- Brennt
- Røkkr
- Saturnine Child
- Naraka
- Proch
- Tungsten
- Kaldr
Line-up:
- Svartan – Vocals, guitar
- TZommer – Guitar
Link: