GREVE - Föllo afv Svavel Lifvets Dimridå CD

In 2019, GREVE burst from the void with two records, both through PURITY THROUGH FIRE: first, the Nidingsdåd utav det uråldriga EP and then the full-length Nordarikets Strid. That GREVE exclusively played classic, second-wave Swedish black metal came as little surprise given the band's membership: Ancient Records linchpin Swartadauþuz (BEKËTH NEXËHMÜ, Azelisassath, Digerdöden, Gnipahålan, Musmahhu, Mystik, Summum, Trolldom, Daudadagr), then joined by vocalist Lik of BEKËTH NEXËHMÜ renown. Much like most/all of Swartadauþuz's projects are blessed with an intrinsically ancient sound, authentic and austere as the age-old classics from which his imagination sprung, so too did GREVE with a breathtakingly spectral 'n' stargazing style of black metal mysticism.

Now, three years later do GREVE emerge from the shadows with another full-length, which both consolidates and extrapolates those all-too-considerable powers. Featuring a new lineup - Korgath on vocals and Juhos on drums, with Swartadauþuz still handling all guitars, bass, and keyboards - Föllo af Svavel, Lifvets Dimridå bursts forth with beauty and menace, its denser and more aggressive sound betraying no small amount of shimmering atmosphere. All instruments within the soundfield are clearer and sharper, and yet they all work in unison to create a canvas both grounded in the earth and transportive toward the ethereal. The album's eight-song/46-minute structure is key; bookended by an intro and outro, the interior black metal epics drink deeply of 1996-vintage classicism but replenish the listener with its none-more-majestic swoosh & swell. And like GREVE's foundational first two recordings, Föllo af Svavel, Lifvets Dimridå emits a similarly racing-yet-floating aspect, now simply more gleaming - and ominously so...

Atmospheric Black Metal Art (Exclusively) for dreamers and lone wolves alike: GREVE are handily creating their own niche within an already exclusive niche. Föllo af Svavel, Lifvets Dimridå is their latest monument by which to launch journeys to the stars and/or into the self.