The Infernal Pathway

Album review

Since forming in 1997, the four plague-ridden Oslo-oids of 1349 are well-known on the international scene for tirelessly producing brutal, unadorned black metal (characteristic of Norwegian bands from the second wave in the 90s). For newcomers, we should probably mention that the year 1349 marked the arrival of the Black Death in Norway, wiping out a third of the population and plunging the country into famine. Indeed, the majority of the group’s material revolves around death. With The Infernal Pathway, the band delivers a seventh album that continues down the new path established with Massive Cauldron of Chaos in 2014. Some songs like Abyssos Antithesis present riffs with thrash influences, alternating with black passages, sharp and sharp melodies that are not dissimilar to Satyricon’s first albums. Other songs such as Towers Upon Towers explore unhealthy ambiences, marked here by an icy change of atmosphere with strident guitar screams and monotone declamations in a menacing voice. The rhythmic parts, performed by the legendary Frost, give pride of place to his characteristic hectic blast beats and crazy drumrolls, especially on Enter Cold Void Dreaming. Continuity is created with the previous album’s ambient tracks such as Tunnel of Set, which the band has continued to explore here in a more consistent way throughout the record. © Clément Bruni/Qobuz