In Norse mythology, Slidr is a river in Hel, the land of the dead. Glaciers pour into it from the freezing well of Hvergelmir, and swords turn beneath its waters. Well, when Gast (bass, guitars, vocals) started Slidhr, he may have added an “h” in the word, but he stayed true to the legends. On debut full-length Deluge he and fellow drummer B. Einarsson dip into the river of Hel(l) and embrace the freezing waters full of swords. This album is a cry and hell and the afterlife. And I’m loving every minute of it.
The theme through out is a cold, stark blast in the face of twisted guitars, tremolo picking, blast beat drums, and painful, tortured lyrics. But one this Slidhr do now and then, and do well I may add, is pull the reigns back and use quiet parts as a piece in the arsenal. While I have no lyrics sheet, the words I can make out on ‘Wielding Daggers’ aren’t very damn happy, hating a good chuck of the world from what I can make out. On ‘Hex’ you’ll find ups and downs of slow chugged guitars being surrounded in an unholy sermon followed by a howling atmospheric sound that can only be describes as the siren before the end. ‘Symbols Obscuring’ has a mid section of subdued guitars, simple drum beats, and hazy fog rolling. On the bookends of it though, are onslaughts of the demon leaving and then coming back for his prey. You are fucked.
‘Unseen’ is a track that is most straightforward in its delivery. That’s not to say is a basic boring track. Quite the contrary; the song is just a mid-pace tumble drum affair. The guitars are hectic and loaded with heresy, but the real high light are the vocals. Agonizing, for fucks sake and it is glorious. The sheer demonic sounds that Gast can emit are in line with many other black metal bands, but they’re still impressive. I tip my hat to any man that can put himself behind a microphone and bare the insides of his hatred onto tape, and do it with such malice. Closing track ‘Rays Like Blades’ is a final gallop to the edge of the lost souls trying to escape the fiery below, and Gast is behind the podium canonizing the black mass. When the speech is over and the barrage of Slidhr has said their piece, you’re left with slight chills from what you’ve just heard, and a sick feeling that you want to hear it again.
If you’re a black metal fan and would like something that isn’t over-polished like a lot of stuff that’s out there, there should be no question about picking this album up. Deluge will be available on May 24th in the UK and on the 28th in the US through Debemur Morti Productions.
Support those spreading the good word and keeping metal alive.
HAIL!!!!
