If Noisey ever decides to do a continuation of their fantastic One Man Metal documentary series, I think Shamaatae, the sole member of Swedish black metal act Arckanum, would be a fantastic subject. My knowledge of Chaos Gnosticism – the ideology Shamaatae practices and shares through Arckanum’s music – is completely nonexistent, and the Arckanum website – which Metal Archives says to refer to for details on Shamaatae’s beliefs – has not been up in years. At the very least, it would be an interesting interview topic, and at most it could be incredibly enlightening.
Regardless of what Shamaatae believes, however, what I do know is that Arckanum make damn good black metal. 2009’s ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ was incredible, albeit unpronounceable for many. The follow-up albums, 2010’s Sviga Læ and 2011’s Helvítismyrkr, while a step down from ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ in my opinion, were both solid as well. Arckanum’s newest, Fenris Kindir, sees Shamaatae shift from the more melodic sound of the past few albums for a stripped-down, almost punkier sound. The change works, as Fenris Kindir feels fresher and more inspired as a result.
Now, the punkier, stripped-down sound is not new to Arckanum; it’s been present on previous albums, like the song ‘Or Djupum’ from Helvítismyrkr. The melodic bits, however, have been almost completely removed, with the exception of instrumental interludes like ‘Hamrami.’ If you’re looking for a ‘Þursvitnir’ or ‘In Svarta,’ you’ll be disappointed. And I wouldn't blame you, because previous Arckanum albums have had fantastic melodies. Not many bands can successfully strip away one of their strongest aspects and live to tell the tale.
Fenris Kindir is one of those exceptions. Tracks like ‘Dolgrinn’ and ‘Fenris Gangr’ still sound like Arckanum, except that Shamaatae channels Celtic Frost, Mayhem, and later Darkthrone more than usual, opting for dissonant intervals over trem-picked melody. If you’re a fan of Tom Warrior riffs – and if you’re not, what the fuck are you doing? – you’ll find much to like here. Much of the album pushes forward with a vehement intensity (the album is based on the wolf Fenrir marching forth with an army of giant wolves at Ragnarok), only stopping for a few interludes, some of which are instrumental and some of which are the distorted, creepy spoken/growled word variety (if you've heard ‘Þjazagaldr,’ then ‘Vargold’ will sound familiar to you).
Reinvention can be a good or bad thing, and while Arckanum has only shifted a little bit, small changes can produce drastic results. In this case, the results are encouraging, as Fenris Kindir is a headbanging good time that any black metal fan should enjoy thoroughly.
