Verbolgen

Description

HULDER is an American black metal project born from the creative collaboration between Hulder and Necreon. Their three previous albums gradually steered the project toward broader, more collaborative territory. Verbolgen, released jointly by Season of Mist and 20 Buck Spin, marks a decisive turning point: it is the first HULDER album on which Necreon fully takes on the role of co-leader, rather than merely a collaborator. Drawing its roots from ancestral nature worship, sacred rites, and the shadows of pre-Christian traditions, Verbolgen unfolds across nine tracks that explore both the rigor and the strange winter beauty that define HULDER’s sound. The songwriting has grown richer, drawing on a broader instrumentation: the hurdy-gurdy and Keld’s additional keyboards lend an almost processional solemnity to certain passages, while Ianuaria’s flute hovers over the album like smoke above still water. Two drummers share the album, with Vapula and Vrolok each bringing their own style to their respective tracks. The result is a rhythm section that pulses with the shifting moods and tempos. The mix, handled by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studio in Finland, gives the album a raw and deep sound, perfectly in keeping with its themes: blood, earth, and the settling of old debts. Even the visual identity marks a turning point: the cover, painted by Morrigan, is her first creation for a metal band in nearly thirty years, and the logo has been modernized by Jannicke Wiese Hansen. Three of the songs are sung in Flemish, giving Verbolgen a singular incantatory dimension that sets it apart from anything HULDER has offered so far. For fans of BATHORY, DISSECTION, MOONSORROW.Side A :Drie Raven (Intro) / The Crowning / Thy Binding Oath / Verbolgen / ...And We Shall SingSide B :In Blood and in Earth / Den Nacht Zijn Lied / View From Nemeton / The Glow of Dawn