apanthropy

Nifelheim
Unholy Death
Darkness Shall Rise Productions
Released: 7/4/24

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1 – Intro
2 – Black Curse
3 – Unholy Death
4 – Satanic Sacrifice
5 – Dawn of the Dark Millenium
6 – Witchfuck
7 – Sodomizer
8 – Possessed by Evil
9 – The Devastation
10 – Fuck Off
11 – Mean Machine (Motorhead cover)
12 – Reaper (Bathory cover)
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Nifelheim are well-respected figures in the Swedish extreme metal scene, playing a genuine mix of black metal and thrash metal that excels beyond many other acts. Led by the Gustavsson brothers, Per and Erik, otherwise known as Hellbutcher and Tyrant , Nifelheim generated four respectable albums between their founding in 1990 and their hiatus beginning in 2019. Their newest compilation, Unholy Death, brings together their 1993 debut demo of the same name and pairs it with a second unreleased demo from the same year, as well as a pair of cover songs.

The physical release comes in a hardcover digibook that’s 14×14 centimeters and features an extensive interview as well as numerous never-before-seen photos from the band’s career. The tracks have all been freshly remastered for this 2024 release through Temple of Disharmony.

The original Unholy Death demo tape from 2024 is an exercise in primitive black metal. Following a brief introduction, ‘Black Curse’ rips through with a flurry of d-beat rhythms and hammer blasts. Basic riff structures, tightly constructed in terms of interval spacing, churn out with barbarism. The title track invokes sensations equivalent to very early Vulcano and Destroyer 666. ‘Satanic Sacrifice’ shows off the guitar playing Morbid Slaughter, who only ever appeared on the first demo before being replaced by Jon Zwetsloot on a session basis for the 1995 self-titled debut album. ‘Dawn of the Dark Millenium’ encompasses the meaning of ‘black thrash’ quite well, even for being decades old, with drummer Demon laying down caustic rhythms, and the Gustavsson brothers notorious bass playing and vocals rounding out the sound.

As far as production goes, it’s surprisingly well-rounded for a remastered demo tape from 1993. The drums and guitar dominate the mix, with the drums being concise, warm, and frontal, paired with grinding analog guitar tracks that are washed with the typical tape grain warmth you get from analog production. The bass guitar track is legible if one is wearing headphones or experiencing playback on a larger stereo system.

The material from the unreleased 1993 demo tape is an evolutionary step for Nifelheim, with improvements made to production properties and marked acceleration of skill in terms of composition and songwriting. ‘Witchfuck’ is a great example of the band’s leap forward, playing out as a slamming, sophisticated dose of primitive black metal. ‘Sodomizer’ is a look into what would eventually flesh out to become Nifelheim’s signature sound. ‘Possessed by Evil’ is a non-stop ripper that showcases the perfect blend of thrash metal and black metal that defined their career, a style that a great many bands adopted, but only a few genuinely excelled at. Overall, the unreleased 1993 demo shows are tighter, more varied and more concentrated Nifelheim.

The production on the unreleased 1993 demo is slighty better in comparison to the Unholy Death demo tape, with a more prominent bass drum tone, more bass guitar presence, and more dynamism in the riff crafting.

‘Fuck Off’ is a simple throwaway track that is just heavily distorted screaming, a bit of an odd choice to include in the compilation. Finishing the compilation are two cover songs, Motorhead’s ‘Mean Machine’ gets the black thrash treatment alongside of a bit more of an obvious choice, Bathory’s ‘Reaper.’ ‘Mean Machine’ was recorded in late 1992 and ‘Reaper’ was recorded in 1993, further showcasing a band that knew what objective it wanted to accomplish very early on in their career.

Overall, this is a great release showing off the earliest, often-unheard material from a quality Swedish band. Raw, primitive, and powerful, Nifelheim fans have a mandatory buy with Unholy Death, and for anyone unfamiliar with the band, this is a great starting-off point before heading into the full-lengths that peppered their discography.

Label: Darkness Shall Rise Productions
Band: Nifelheim

This review was originally written for Voices From The Darkside.

AJK