'Sykelig Englen' are Black Metal band based in uk and are gracing us with their misery and beauty with their latest album 'Hagall', fitting that it's raining currently.
As per usual with black metal you get 90s guitar tones low production and echoing bleak vocals and god do i love it, The atmosphere, tuning and melodies are sad bleak and aggressive at times creating melancholy throughout the album. One of the things to note is the lack of distortion to favour melodies combined with the screeching bleakness and blast beats which certainly makes it a less predictable listen, There are moments that hit in on the 'BM sound' but they soon bring you back to that sykelig sound and wrapping you in the misery.
The progression certainly shows for these guys since i have heard all their releases since they formed in 2008 and ten years later the hard work,originality and aggression is still there.
Easily their most experimental release with this strange and creepy solos littered throughout, I have never really heard much black metal utilize solos and to do it so eerily it certainly adds to its unique style that is 'Sykelig Englen'.
My favorite track is the title track 'Hagall' with its groove and ferocity reminding me of Carpathian Forest but with a twist unique to them really giving a nod to their peers that evidently influenced the band.
Overview: Melancholy and bleak with unique ideas pumping some well needed freshness into a archaic style of black metal.
6.5/10
https://www.facebook.com/SykeligEnglen7/
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