Svartsyn have been kicking for almost 30 years now, presenting some quite different sounds as time goes by. This is their tenth full-length album, and it gets back to what I thought they were good at, ditching the rather generic Black/Death sounds of their mid-period for a welcome dose of dirty, old-school thugging. This is definitely a Black Metal album that harks back to the second-wave sounds of bands like Satyricon or Gorgoroth when they were still highly influenced by the first-wave sounds of Venom or Celtic Frost. The guitar sound is a punishing, cold bludgeon, the vocals are a harsh but understandable rasp, and the compositions are big and atmospheric with plenty of room for heaviness as well as catchy riffage. A fine return to form for this long-running band.