MARA – Sword of Vengeance

RELEASE YEAR: 2025
BAND URL: https://lnk.to/swordofvengeance

The Swedish horde known as Mara impressed this scribe greatly with their Loka Mær offering from 2022 (also released by the ever-reliable Immortal Frost Productions), and Sword of Vengeance, which is their fifth full-length assault overall, sounds like the natural successor to what came before, which is a good thing as you have probably already guessed.

Their take on raw and filthy black metal is neither particularly original nor innovative in terms of riffs and song arrangements, but what Mara has in abundance is confidence, and inherent in their gnarly and sinister compositions as well as in the overall perspective with respect to the sequencing of tracks is coherence. The ideas that are on display make perfect sense, and there is a flow to the record that is a pure delight to these ears. In addition, Mara undoubtedly comes across as more direct, intense, and decidedly in-your-face than ever before, which could be a result of the vocals being rather upfront in the mix and spewing vile and hatred by the gallons. The insane and maniacal riffing of “Nidingr” is utterly satisfying and a standout moment, and the epic and eerie “Blakkr Heart” is a blackened gem too, but there are no pedestrian tunes anywhere in sight, and the record maintains its monumentum its 35-minute duration.  

The aforementioned predecessor (Loka Mær) possessed a more mesmerizing and hypnotic quality than Sword of Vengeance does, but make no mistake; this sharp, unpleasant, and cohesive slab of unholy ugliness is a robust and interesting piece of work and a great example of how to craft raw black metal with some actual meat on its bones. Highly recommended to those of you who crave unfathomable darkness.