Oslo-based Svarttjern have been blasting out the old-school darkness for nearly twenty years now, comprising of most of Carpathian Forest's current line-up (everyone bar Nattefrost and Vrangsinn, in fact) plus former Ragnarok vocalist HansFyrste. Which makes for a solid band, all with a decent amount of experience with other groups (bassist Malphas in Endezzma and Beastcraft, for instance) which is enough for Svarttjern's fifth full-length to be a respectable outing if not quite a revolutionary experience, as with past efforts reviewed here.

If anything marks the album out from past efforts it's a greater influence from the blackened thrash realm, as opener Prince of Disgust proves immediately with a wild, headbangable energy, and this mix of pure black battery and chugging thrash gives the album a crackling thrill that helps keep it interesting. Plenty of guitar solos (Ment til a Tjerne, for a terrific example early in the tracklisting) will keep the heavier metal brothers and sisters happy, while the occasional dip into slower, more atmospheric pieces such as Melodies of Lust with its mid-paced Marduk-ean crawl pay dividends. Frost Embalmed Abyss is the closest to standard Norwegian black metal on the album, oddly melodic at points with spoken and clean vocals thrown in here and there, almost like a mix of mid-period Enslaved before they fully embraced prog and Darkthrone before they went crust.