HELHEIM – HrabnaR / Ad vesa

RELEASE YEAR: 2025
BAND URL: https://helheim.bandcamp.com/album/hrabnar-ad-vesa

It is a thrillingly peculiar thing when one receives a promotional disc for a new album by Viking metal legends Helheim in the sense that you never quite know to expect from them except for all-out quality, which is a great thing, because these veterans never fail to amaze this scribe and it truly feels as if each new LP is more stirring and thought-provoking than what came before. There are very few acts out there who possess the hunger and ability to pull something like that off in such a convincing manner. Perhaps the biggest surprise lies in the title, or titles plural as this is nothing less than a split album, albeit not in the traditional sense of the word. V’gandr (bass and vocals) and H’grimnir (guitars and vocals) have each crafted four compositions, thus the first side of the disc was singlehandedly written by the former while the second one belongs to the latter (though it should be noted that V’gandr handled all the lyrics). In some respects, one gets to experience two different aspects of what makes Helheim such a consistently intriguing constellation, but what might surprise the listener (and perhaps even the band members themselves) is how well the two halves complement each other and how cohesive and fully-formed the result is.

Rarely have their compositions felt as immediate or been as immediately accessible and catchy as they are here. The first half strikes the perfect balance between aggression, melancholy, and yearning, and “Sorg er dødens spade” and “Mennesket er dyret i tale” in particular carry an introspective vibe and conjure up a fierce and haunting aura of brooding that sets them apart from pretty much everything else in the group’s canon. The second half feels slightly more experimental and boasts some inspired left-field ideas, and as with the material composed by V’gandr, H’grimnir infuses every nook and cranny of each composition with a palpable tension and what can only be termed a deep-seated longing for something that appears intangible yet within reach somehow – the best examples of which are the varied, monumental “Fylgja” and the vibrant, chimerical album closer “Hamr.”

I honestly feel like a complete tit for labeling the group a Viking metal outfit when in truth they are so much more than that, and these past fifteen years have seen them defy and transcend genre conventions and all the typical norms and tropes usually associated with pagan metal, or Viking metal as it were. While Rignir (2019) arguably represented the band at their most musically adventurous and WoduridaR (2021) at their most dynamic and reflective, their upcoming stroke of creative genius manages to touch the heart and soul of the listener in new ways, and I am loving every frigging second of it. Progressive and forward-thinking yet also prominently black metal-esque in tone and style, this is much more than a study in contrasts and shows that Helheim either knowingly or subconsciously rests on a foundation of a singular artistic vision – only that there are two different ways of bringing said vision to life.

HrabnaR / Ad vesa is nothing less than a triumph, and I honestly have no idea why you are still sticking around on this website when you ought to be pre-ordering this magnificent offering right now!