THE BEAST

[Photo: Kenneth Løvlien]
 

Today, Norwegian black metallers Ekrom  stream the entirety  of their highly anticipated debut album, Uten Nådigst Formildelse, at  the Black Metal Promotion YouTube channel . Set for international release on June 6th via Edged Circle Productions, hear Ekrom's Uten Nådigst Formildelse in its entirety exclusively  HERE .

A new formation hailing from darkest, coldest Norway, Ekrom sound exceptionally ancient, brimming with a fire that stoked (and literally burned) the country during the early '90s. Perhaps not surprisingly, the band is the work of two old souls: drummer Thomas Ødegaard (AKA Tex Terror, longtime drummer/vocalist of Nocturnal Breed) and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Kharon, an early member of Norway's Covenant, during that band's earliest (and best) days. Ekrom made their public debut in November 2022 with the EP The Black Flames of Seth - initially digital-only, but then finding super-limited tape release in March of this year. At nearly 15 minutes, the EP swiftly made its point: the past was alive, and from the cinders stirred another new fire...

Now it's reached a conflagration with Ekrom's full-length debut, Uten Nådigst Formildelse. Wasting no time with an intro, the album kicks in - HARD - with a spiraling & suffocating spire of absolutely classic Nordic ice. Shards of stained-glass synth soon enter the picture and make Ekrom's cryogenics even more haunting and expansive, with the production itself - crisp, clear, and somehow dense simultaneously, most importantly emitting an air of mystery and mysticism such as it was during the darkest 1990s - almost working as another instrument. That the duo have these sounds dialed in is one (exceptional) thing; that they wield those sonics in service of imaginative, immersive songwriting is another. Indeed, Uten Nådigst Formildelse is a transportive experience, much like those ancient Norwegian tomes here, severing the listener from reality and opening the portals to the beyond and dream-worlds yet contemplated: life-giving and -damning in equal measure, a manifestation of eldritch energies most potent. Or, fancy words aside, Ekrom's debut album is a fucking great BLACK METAL record rendered with time-honored elements.

While there's currently no shortage of bands/records offering classic/"classic" '90s-style black metal, it's invigorating - and, above all, authentic - to find it coming from those who were there from the beginning. Ekrom have both arrived and awoken with Uten Nådigst Formildelse.

In the leadup to its international release this Friday, hear Uten Nådigst Formildelse in its entirety exclusively  HERE , courtesy of the Black Metal Promotion YouTube channel. Preorder info can be found  HERE  at Edged Circle's Bandcamp.