SVARTBY „Kom I Min Kittel”

Music: Folk/Black Metal
Website: http://www.svartby.com
Country: Russia
Cool songs: Kom I Min Kittel, Moder Av Alla Häxor

I am not an almighty knower of the Russian music. I’ve heard some Tchaikovsky’s or Rimsky-Korsakov’s music when I was younger, but I’ve never paid much attention to their folk metal scene (and that is a big ‘no-no’). SVARTBY are a young band – they were formed in 2004 and since that time released to EPs and one full-length album, i.e. ‘Kom I Min Kittel’. In this year’s June they are planning to release their second full album, so it seems that the machine is working properly. SVARTBY are a Russian band, but there is one unusual thing about their music, or lyrics, to be more precise. They are in… Swedish. Damn, I do not understand Russian (although it is similar to my language), though Swedish is definitely not my cup of tea. Some say that SVARTBY’s Swedish is damn bad… I’m not the one to judge. One additional note: the album was released in 2007 via Fono Records. In February 2008 Trollzorn decided to reissue it.

‘Kom I Min Kittel’ is a short album but it contains quite an interesting material. The whole is rather mysterious-creature-oriented (especially troll). From the beginning we are tortured with grim atmosphere of witch-story origin. At first sight it may sound a bit pessimistic, but when the title composition hits the ears the ground shakes and everything changes in a moment. You just want to say: those dudes rock! And indeed, they do. The riffs are very ripe and juicy, the atmosphere is dense, but not too much, so that the folk idea would be the dominant on the album. In comparison to SATANAKOZEL, they are less aggressive and more digestible. Still, there are some accordion parts, interwoven with the metal content. Blast beats and tremolos ready to blow your head, but it is not something worth dying for. First of all, you can listen to the album once and find out that it is nothing original. The musicians are doing their best to achieve a gruesome atmosphere, their craftsmanship is at a very high level, and the pace of the album is absolutely fabulous. So what is wrong? Actually nothing. And this is a kind of disadvantage… just imagine yourself wearing the same t-shirt over and over again, day after day, month after month… a stinky situation. SVARTBY’s music has got the potential, it is melodic, aggressive, vicious and even mysterious. But we’ve all heard it before. The beginning of the album is a little gem, it is really fresh and involving. The opening track, together with the title composition form a union of mysteriously joyful inn climate. After three beers you are a happy little bastard picking on the waitresses. But later on the huge blow is becoming to melt, so that it finally perishes. There are some moments where you might think that something will change and the steed will rush on, raging, frothing at the mouth. All you get is a medium-aged stallion, in warm slippers.

All in all, it is not a sin. SVARTBY are w very young band and they will achieve success. That’s for sure. First of all, they perform in Swedish, and that’s something interesting (as for Russians), the second thing is that Trollzorn have already lain their hands on them. So everything seems to be going in the right direction. Now we have to wait for the forthcoming album and we will see, if they have done their homework. From the first auditions at MySpace we can expect a very promising album.

note: 7.5/10

Tracklist

1. Häxby
2. Kom I Min Kittel
3. Skogens Ursinne
4. Om Trollbryggning
5. Solnedgĺng Över Träsk
6. Flykt Över Sömnigt Land
7. Skada Över Er!!
8. Moder Av Alla Häxor
9. Julen Av Vedergällning
10. Stjärnfull Natt

Total playing time 33:30

Line-up

Torhall – vocals, bass guitar
Lindwurm – guitars
Hök – guitars
Giftsvamp – keyboards
Somna – drums