Skaldr is a USBM band from Virginia which pulls its main influences from the second and most celebrated wave of Scandinavian black metal, and translates them into something not so diverse from its sources of inspiration, yet, very fresh and very new, and totally enthralling aesthetically and musically.
The band's debut album, Scythe of Our Errors, was just released, and it's a total triumph of black metal darkness and ferocity. Folk elements and clean breaks interact with the extreme heaviness in complete unison, while the album's pristine production appears to be carrying much of the rawness for which black metal usually appeals, while remaining definitively sharp and coherent.
The Remnants of Our Black Creation intermixes its aggression with a fair amount of deep gloominess, and balances its memorable riffs with folk-bent acoustic moments in a fully riveting outcome.
A DIY release, Scythe of Our Errors, doesn't seem to be lacking any proficiency nor impressibility compared to the distinguished black metal releases of the last few years, and it deserves to be valued for the fine musicianship, and the overall rigid bite.
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Album art by Adam Burke
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