If I were to travel in time all the way back to the Crusade era, Denmark’s black metal band Heltekvad have perfectly made this record to be reminiscent during the King Arthur era and for that being, I am absolutely stunned and floored in hearing such majestic and medieval themed black metal musical wonders that made me appreciate their craft. Not only the songwriting, craftsmanship and lyrical content have won me over but the instrumentals, sound and dynamics into having these beautifully crafted soundscapes and tones really makes the listener dive deeper into the most adventurous and attractive records that I can possibly remember in the underground black metal scene.
However, the instrumentals are filled with astonishing power as they feel appropriately placed without losing its sense of edge and delivery. The craftsmanship on the album is also fantastic as the layers upon layers of beautifully crafted soundscapes and arrangements do sound progressive at times and there’s even some traces of melodic stylings that almost brought a melodic black metal atmosphere to a extent. For what this album represents lyrically and musically speaking the band is heavily devoted into diving deeper and branching out many musical components as their driving force in creating such subsequent and dynamic sound effects does seem to be a lifetime of a magical whirlwind that perfectly captures the essence of sophisticated, yet outrageously fun record that will never leave your sound speakers.
From vocals giving it that emotional, heroic yet aggressive tonality to the heart pummeling drums and chaotic timed signatures to the audible guitar tones and strings giving it that folkloric touch, this album really does make you feel like you’re in a universe during the crusade time period and these Denmark musicians may as well be on their way to create amazing, yet narrative driven albums that you should discover soon as possible. Morgenrødens Helvedesherre not only is a fantastic black metal album, it’s one of the most adventurous and attractive records in 2022.
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Review by Jake Butler
