I hadn't gotten a good dose of haunting, atmospheric black metal in quite some time, so luckily Coldborn's debut, Lingering Voidwards, showed up to scratch that particular itch. Gloomy and echoing, it's also surprisingly diverse in its musical style from track to track.

The band's primary member, Norgaath, who's been involved in a number of other black metal projects, makes for a moody, introspective start to The Call of Death's Clarion, but about a quarter of the way in, the song kicks into high gear. The guitars are reedy and have a dirty and faded distortion in the way that Burzum's used to, but Coldborn's sound is more aggressive for sure, with Menthor, the drummer, sometimes thrashing away with all his might at top speed, other times providing ritual tappings to the clear, echoing sound of the guitar as the song hits a clean spot. The overall impression is of vast, echoing space, and the songs themselves are like that in structure, filled with funeral pauses interspersed by furious, breakneck riffing.

Norgaath also has a fairly versatile vocal repertoire, with a gravelly voice that can break into an agonized shriek or toll solemnly like a bell. On top of the cold, echoing delivery are layered more of those buzzing guitars, with an organ breaking in on Whithered as a final outro to the music. This is a strong showing that ranges widely between the violent and atmospheric extremes of black metal, and it's definitely worth checking out.

Bandcamp: https://coldborn.bandcamp.com/album/lingering-voidwards.